hack

Those Bay Area fences ain't cheap.

Ygduf

around here it is a redwood fence, but our yard has 3 gates, 250ft of fencing needed, and demo of the rotted, improperly installed 250ft of old fence. Also need to rebuild retaining wall on both sides. It's about what I expected, but still a lot. Thankfully my wife makes money!

Wylde06

Those two things sounds expensive.

TheKillerPenguin

Received a letter from the IRS today stating I never filed for 2014 and need to file. Called up IRS and spoke to an agent who confirmed they have all my return on file and it was processed without issue, but she couldn't find the form letter that was sent to me on record and was very confused by the whole situation and didn't entirely know what to tell me. I will now spend the next 2 years living in fear of an audit.

Ygduf

one time on a credit check it came back that I had been paid in Southern Illinois and had paid taxes there. I never worked or was paid in that county, and I never ever paid taxes there.

Sometime, 20 years from now, I'm sure it will come back and ruin my life. Nobody I talked to was ever able to tell me why/what/how it got associated to me. I figure some weird identity theft thing, but yeah... It's still in the back of my mind, 10+ years later.

TheKillerPenguin

I ain't cut out for the thug life.

longe

This reminds me that I'm just waiting for my identity to be stolen. I'd bet that someone out there there has the info, just needs to take the time out of their busy day to put me under.

mattm

I owe about $1.5k to a credit card company from back in college.. still get quarterly debt collection mails that say "due to the age of this debt it will not be reported and no criminal action will be taken", which to me means "pay this if you really want to, but you don't have to".

No Thanks!

MDcatV

I had the opposite earlier this year. I got a letter from the IRS stating that I needed to verify my identity based on the Tax Return filed by MDcatV and Ivona Betchakockoff, at my address, etc. I hadn't yet filed, and didn't know Ms. Betchakockoff, so it was apparent that someone stole my soc # and filed a false return. The IRS probably knew because I assume the false return was to get a refund, and the MDcatV's owe.

shovelhd

You look like one, so there's that.

gsteinb

I read an interesting book on that stuff. Basically after 90 days the debt gets sold off and then over the years people buy the paper at cheaper and cheaper amounts and try and collect on it, gambling they can turn a profit. It's wild west kind of stuff.

big john

Donald Trump could get Mexico to pay for it.

topflightpro

Wow, I had something very similar happen yesterday. I got a letter from the state saying I hadn't paid my taxes and that I owed them plus fees in and interest. I pulled out my files including the payment confirmation and called. Apparently my 2014 payment was applied to my 2015 taxes. They changed it in the computer and my balance clicked to zero. I stopped by the local Dept. of Revenue office on my way home from work today to confirm my balance was zero.

merlinextraligh

There is a concept of moral obligation; i.e., they gave me money in exchange for my agreement to repay it on the stated terms.

mike868y

so after months of wavering, i think i've finally made the decision to apply to grad school. need to get my ish together and take the GRE, but now that I"m actually decided to go I'm pretty motivated/excited.

shovelhd

Good luck!

furiousferret

A bunch of people commuting from my work are stuck on the 15, and a bunch of cars are on fire!

revchuck 

Ditto!

hubcyclist

Public health? Feel free to pick my brain on stuff!

rideaz

I just saw that online. Looks like a semi trick is on fire too

Ygduf

our master bathroom remodel is just about done.

don't have the before pics, but it was horrific and I wouldn't show them anyway.

after is nice though!


this is a bad picture, but I like that the big window in the back is viewable from the doorway to the bedroom and actually all the way from the front of the house, if you move about 5' in from the front door.

shovelhd

Nice.

furiousferret

Almost as nice as the bathroom in the front!

Ygduf

driveway port-a-pottie helps me keep my race edge all the time!

himespau 

Best of luck. When you write PI's asking them to be your mentor, please make sure your letter actually has a comment about what they do and why you want to work for them. I get so many freaking prospective grad students (often from overseas) wanting to work in my lab because cancer, fish, plants, animals, whatever the **** is something they've read about or studied in undergrad and they think it's so cool. That's nice and all but I study communication between different species of bacteria during infections, so why the **** do you think that working for me would be a good idea??? If the person doesn't respond within 24 hours (and many won't at all, it's not personal - I've been through that side of the process too so, I do try to get back to everyone), don't start hounding them through linked in or whatever. IT doesn't help your case. I'm sure you know all this, but just in case you didn't.