HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: cep@taligent.com (Christophe Pettus)
Subject: Re: playing with withholding
Organization: Taligent, a little subsidiary of two really big companies.
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 21:50:31 GMT

In article <1992Sep14.150703.20924@almserv.uucp> alufml@purple.fnma.com (Francois-Michel Lang) writes:
>Fine.  Now is there any reason I can't intentionally be under-withheld
>for the first part of the year, and then make up for it in the latter
>part of the year?

Well, yes, technically.  When you file your withholding statement,
one of the things you are agreeing to is that you are entitled to
the deductions that you are claiming.  If the IRS decided to be very,
very picky, they could order your employer to use a tax withholding
rate that they specify, to insure that Uncle Sam continues to get its
interest-free loan.

>And, if so, the obvious question just extends that
>strategy to its logical conclusion:  Why can't I have $0.00 withheld
>from each paycheck, and then sometime before the end of the year,
>give payroll a huge check for the total amount I should have had withheld
>during the entire year?

Most payroll processing systems aren't set up to handle this; they're
set up to withhold, and can't accept money from non-withholding
sources.  If you can sell your payroll processor on the idea, it's
unlikely that the IRS would find out (unless the amount was large
enough to cause a blip when the processor deposited it with the feds),
but technically, that's Just Not Right.

Regarding filing quarterly estimated tax returns.  EVERYONE is required
to be "properly" withheld.  You have to file quarterly estimated tax
payments if you have reason to believe that, without doing so, you
would have to pay more than 10% of your tax at the time you file your
annual tax return.  This is required of everyone, not just
self-employed people; as it happens, employed people can almost always
take care of it using withholding rather than quarterly payments.

I would, definitely, not have extra (beyond the 0 allowance tax rate)
withheld from your paycheck; file quarterly with the IRS instead, and
pocket the interest.  This is perfectly legal.
--
-- Christophe

"Black is the color of non-conformity.  Everyone has to have it."
	T-shirt company executive
From: tut@cairo.Eng.Sun.COM (Bill "Bill" Tuthill)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: stop Auburn Dam, save on taxes
Date: 10 Sep 1992 02:07:20 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems Inc., Mountain View, CA
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: cairo

It'll cost you less to call your Congress(wo)man now than to pay for
Auburn Dam later, if the Fazio amendment passes next week.  Please
call today, whether you live in California or not.  The Congressional
switchboard number is 202-224-3121.  You can save even more money by
calling your Representative's local office!  Thank you.


		AUBURN DAM UPDATE

The House is supposed to vote on the Natural Resources Development
Act of 1992 (HR 5754) next Wednesday, September 16.  From the floor,
Vic Fazio will try to add his Auburn Dam amendment to this bill.

Here's how you can help defeat Auburn dam: call your Congress(wo)man's
office and say "Please vote against adding the Auburn Dam amendment
(HR 5414) to the Natural Resources Development Act of 1992 (HR 5754)
when Congressman Fazio proposes this amendment next week."

Auburn Dam is being touted for flood control, but levee improvements
would be more effective, and cheaper.  Auburn Dam now supposed to be a
dry dam-- a billion dollars of concrete with no water behind it.

The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency's consulting engineers report*
recommends a series of actions-- upgrading existing flood control levees,
lowering an existing spillway on Folsom Dam, and making a modest change
in Folsom flood storage-- to provide real flood control for Sacramento,
and save taxpayers more than $567 million in dam building costs.

---
* "A Review of Key Issues from the American River Watershed
Investigation Feasibility Study and an Analysis of Alternatives
for Increasing Flood Protection in Sacramento", Mitchell Swanson
and Associates, March 1992.
From: Michael Gordon <GORDONM%DENISON.BITNET@SHSU.edu>
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: Expensing a Computer
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 07:47 EDT
Organization: Fedtax-L<==>Misc.Taxes Gateway
X-Gateway-Source-Info: Mailing List

>
>I am considering the purchase of a personal computer, to be used primarily
>(at least 75%-80%) for business.  The computer would be kept at my home in
>a room that I use for more than just business and therefore do not declare
>as home office space on my taxes.
>
>The computer system (hardware plus software) I am considering would cost
>less than $10,000, and I get the impression from the Consumer Reports Tax
>Guide that I would be able to deduct its entire cost in 1992 as a Section
>179 expense off my schedule C.  However, the Guide is not entirely clear on
>this matter; there seem to be conditions under which the cost has to be
>amortized over five years.
>
>If possible, I'd like to expense the cost of the system in 1992.  Can
>someone kindly explain precisely what conditions I have to meet to be able
>to do this?
>
        You can expense the proportion of your cost which reflect business
use. If the total cost is $10,000 and your business use is 80%, then you can
deduct $8,000 under section 179. The remaining $2,000 either gets no
deduction, if used for games, etc. or, if you use it for investment purposes
(track the market, compute taxes, etc.) then it must be amortized over five
years.

        Hope this helps

Michael D. Gordon
gordonM@cc.denison.edu
Date sent:  7-SEP-1992 07:47:29

Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: alufml@purple.fnma.com (Francois-Michel Lang)
Subject: playing with withholding
Organization: Fannie Mae, Washington, DC
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 15:07:03 GMT


I just recalculated my withholding (I am a full-time salaried employee)
using an IRS publication called "Is Your Withholding Correct?" and
found I was under-withheld.  No problem, says payroll; I should either
(1) instruct them to take out an additional $N from each of the
    X remaining 1992 paychecks, or
(2) give payroll a check for $N*X before the end of the year, which
    they will forward to the IRS.

Fine.  Now is there any reason I can't intentionally be under-withheld
for the first part of the year, and then make up for it in the latter
part of the year?  And, if so, the obvious question just extends that
strategy to its logical conclusion:  Why can't I have $0.00 withheld
from each paycheck, and then sometime before the end of the year,
give payroll a huge check for the total amount I should have had withheld
during the entire year?  I know self-employed people must ensure they're
paid up quarterly, but salaried people are under no such obligation
from what I understand.  Any ideas?
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------
Francois-Michel Lang          (202) 752-6067   FAX: (202) 752-4463
alufml@fnma.com ............. Fannie Mae; Asset/Liability Strategy
lang@linc.cis.upenn.edu ..... Dept of Comp & Info Science, U of PA
From: bufort@remus.rutgers.edu (Anthony Bufort)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: SCRIPT INFO FOR TRACIE (and anyone else who wants it)...
Date: 12 Sep 92 21:58:29 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


  Dear Tracie (and anyone interested)...

    As far as computer software goes for scriptwriting, there is
 a program available for WordPerfect 5.1 called SUPERSCRIPT PRO.
 The ad says, "Call or write for a complete list of features, or
 to order, send a check or money order for $159.00 (CA residents
 please add 8.25% sales tax.)"  The address is:

     ITE Technologies
     1800 S. Robertson Blvd.
     Suite 326-D
     Los Angeles, California 90035
     (310) 559-3814

    
    As regards sources for actual TV/movie scripts, I have two
 for you:

     (For a free catalog, write to...)

     Script City
     8033 Sunset Blvd.
     #1500-WD
     Hollywood, CA 90046
     (213) 871-0707

     and...

     Hollywood Scripts
     5514 Satsuma Ave.
     North Hollywood, CA 91601
     (818) 980-3545


   Good Luck!!!


 -Tony
From: ehudon@reed.edu (Elizabeth Hudon)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: Re: Publishing Children's Books?
Date: 8 Sep 92 09:37:20 GMT
Article-I.D.: reed.1992Sep8.093720.26059
Organization: Reed College, Portland, OR

Two things. First, it has been suggested that (and I apologize if I'm
misreading here) that an author in the process of writing a children's
book find a critic other than friends or relatives--possibly someone
used to children's fiction, such as a reviewer "specializing" in that
field. Sounds perfectly reasonable. But I'm curious about why a child
reviewer was not suggested as well.  Children are more than capable of
articulating their reactions to books they read--and they are the intended
audience.

Second, I'd like to heartily agree with the assessment that writing
for children is difficult. I've continued reading "children's"  and
"young adult" fiction, and a good friend of mine is a chiildren's 
librarian who has been on several Newbery and Caldecott medal commit-
tees. Children's books are frequently (IMHO) better written than "adult"
fiction. Children demand a good, solid story with clear characterization.

It often seems that writers of children's books aren't taken seriously
as writers--as though it was a step on the way to becoming a "real"
writer. (There's even a branch of feminist theory which argues that
women writers were pushed to write children's fiction because it was
easier to do than "serious" writing.)

Elizabeth
Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: ojvind@plato.cns.caltech.edu (Ojvind Bernander)
Subject: Re: screenwriting
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 16:54:53 GMT

In article <Bu8M2v.DCF@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes:
>
>This leads to my first question: what do you read
>after Syd Field's standard book? I skimmed through three others and they
>seemed almost exactly the same.

You buy or borrow ten scripts, read them, summarize and analyze in terms
of what you've learned so far.  What are the plot points?  How many
scenes in acts 1/2/3?  Outline the subplots.  Was this an action movie?
Well, in that case, how many pages were really devoted to slam-bang action?
Probably fewer than you expected.  Then, for each script, make a list of
clever devices you found, figure out what maked you like this character
and dislike that one.  Why didn't you really mind when XYZ got killed off?
Etc., etc., etc.

Only read scripts you like.  Then when you try to outline your own script,
compare it to the ones you've read.  This will be depressing at first,
since you realize that your original outline calls for a structure
that doesn't seem as "winning" as the ones you read.  Well, cuss and
swear for a day, then try to brainstorm and come up with new angles,
characters, and plot points.

Then force yourself to finish that outline:  50-60 scenes.  Then WRITE!

Thus advices someone who never wrote more than 7 pages on a single script...
Listen to what I say, don't don't what I don't.

   _
-- Ojvind
From: glenn.devlin@canrem.com (glenn devlin)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: script info for traci
Date: 15 Sep 92 01:49:25 GMT
Reply-To: "glenn devlin" <glenn.devlin@canrem.com>
Distribution: misc
Organization: Canada Remote Systems

AB>     Script City
AB>     8033 Sunset Blvd.
AB>     #1500-WD
AB>     Hollywood, CA 90046
AB>     (213) 871-0707

AB>     and...

AB>     Hollywood Scripts
AB>     5514 Satsuma Ave.
AB>     North Hollywood, CA 91601
AB>     (818) 980-3545


AB>   Good Luck!!!


AB> -Tony

   Great info, Tony. I got the scriptor information and will
look it up. May I add another script selling co.

 Script City
 1765 North Highland Ave, Suite 760
 Hollywood, California
   90028
 1 (213) 871-0707

Cheers, Glenn
---
 ~ DeLuxe} 1.12 #9662 ~ Annie, go get my computer.
--
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario, Canadas
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044
Newsgroups: misc.writing,comp.text,comp.text.desktop,comp.text.frame,comp.text.interleaf,comp.text.tex,comp.text.sgml,dfw.general,tx.general
From: aba@hp835.mitek.com (Binion Amerson)
Subject: TECHNICAL: Multimedia Comes of Age--STC Lone Star Chapter Meeting
Summary: STC Lone Star Chapter September meeting
Keywords: STC, Multimedia 
Organization: OpenConnect Systems, Dallas, TX
Distribution: tx
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 12:43:21 GMT

                       F I N A L   N O T I C E 

       * * *   INTERACTIVE  MULTIMEDIA  COMES  OF  AGE   * * *

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) Lone Star Chapter is pleased to 
announce its September 1992 meeting:

WHO:            STC Lone Star Chapter (Dallas/Fort Worth)

WHAT:           September 1992 Meeting

PROGRAM TOPIC:  Interactive Multimedia Comes of Age

SPEAKERS:       Scott Lamb, Creotec Corporation
                David Harrison, Sky Island Communications
                Catherine Dodd, Communication Strategies, Inc.
                Steve Lee, Communication Strategies, Inc.

ATTENDEES:      Anyone interested in technical communication--writers,
                entry-level and experienced alike

WHEN:           Thursday, September 10, 1992

WHERE:          Harvey Hotel-Addison
                14315 Midway Road
                Dallas, Texas

TIME:           6-7 p.m.   Registration, Demonstrations, and Happy Hour
                7-8 p.m.   Dinner
                8-9 p.m.   Program

DOOR PRIZES:    Multimedia and Graphics Software

DINNER COST:    Members $18.00
                Nonmembers $20.00

RESERVATIONS:   Call (metro) 817-540-5494 for dinner reservations.  Reservation
                for dinner must be made or canceled by noon, September 8, 1992.
                Otherwise space is subject to availability.  Dinner no-shows 
                will be billed.  Additional $5.00 without a reservation.  

INFORMATION:    Dale Erickson, (metro) 817-267-8765

MEMBERSHIP:     Nancee Moster, (metro) 817-267-9662

MAIL ADDRESS:   STC Lone Star Chapter
                P.O. Box 515065
                Dallas, Texas 75251-5065

-- 
 Binion Amerson, Senior Technical Writer, OpenConnect Systems, Inc., 2033 
 Chennault Dr., Carrollton, Texas 75006; 214/308-0447; aba@hp835.oc.com
 General Manager: 40th STC Annual Conference, June 6-9, 1993,  Dallas, TX
Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: saslpo@stevens.unx.sas.com (Len Olszewski)
Subject: Re: Publishing Children's Books?
Originator: saslpo@stevens.unx.sas.com
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 20:40:15 GMT
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.


In article <1992Sep9.125736.18573@syma.sussex.ac.uk>, mapd1@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Nigel Ling) writes:
|> In article <1992Sep8.093720.26059@reed.edu> ehudon@reed.edu (Elizabeth Hudon) writes:
|> ..
|> >
|> >It often seems that writers of children's books aren't taken seriously
|> >as writers--as though it was a step on the way to becoming a "real"
|> >writer. (There's even a branch of feminist theory which argues that
|> >women writers were pushed to write children's fiction because it was
|> >easier to do than "serious" writing.)
|>
|> All you potential children's writers out there might be interested to
|> know that Graham Greene wrote 3 or so children's stories. One is
|> called The Little Red Fire Engine I believe. Now you could never
|> accuse him of not being a serious writer.
|>
|> Nigel

Seems to me Dr.Seuss has been sitting on the best seller list for a long 
time with _Oh, the Places You'll Go_. Maybe not serious writing, but 
serious money. (Of course, it's serious, and very good, writing as well.)
<-------------------------------^------------------------------------->
|  Len Olszewski                |  " I may be banal, but I'm not      |
|  Technical Writer             |    juvenile. "                      |
|  saslpo@unx.sas.com           |                                     |
| "Have cursor, will curse."    |    - Me                             |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Opinions this ludicrous are mine. Reasonable opinions will cost you.|
<-------------------------------v------------------------------------->

Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: sasafw@dobo.unx.sas.com (Fred Welden)
Subject: Re: Publishing Children's Books?
Originator: sasafw@dobo.unx.sas.com
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 20:57:26 GMT
Organization: Dobonia


In article <BuBw33.7xs@unx.sas.com>, saslpo@stevens.unx.sas.com (Len Olszewski) writes:
|
|Seems to me Dr.Seuss has been sitting on the best seller list for a long
|time with _Oh, the Places You'll Go_. Maybe not serious writing, but
|serious money. (Of course, it's serious, and very good, writing as well.)

But Dr. Seuss is dead.  A cautionary thought for those of you who aspire
to bestsellerdom.

-- 
--Fred, or another blind 8th-century BC  |  sasafw@dobo.unx.sas.com
        Hellenic poet of the same name.  |
Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: marcy@sqwest.wimsey.bc.ca (Marcy Thompson)
Subject: Re: Publishing Children's Books?
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Surrey, British Columbia, CANADA
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 20:11:23 GMT

In a recent misc.writing article, mapd1@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Nigel Ling) wrote:

>>
>>It often seems that writers of children's books aren't taken seriously
>>as writers--as though it was a step on the way to becoming a "real"
>>writer. (There's even a branch of feminist theory which argues that
>>women writers were pushed to write children's fiction because it was
>>easier to do than "serious" writing.)
>
>All you potential children's writers out there might be interested to
>know that Graham Greene wrote 3 or so children's stories. One is
>called The Little Red Fire Engine I believe. Now you could never
>accuse him of not being a serious writer.

This is exactly the sort of thing which irritates me. Why do we have to
know that Graeme Greene wrote serious adult fiction to call him a
serious writer? Answer: we don't. The fact that he wrote and published
3 children's books, in and of itself, makes him a serious writer.

It's the same for people in all genres who are tired of being told
that they aren't serious writers because they write (choose one)
horror/SF/Fantasy/Romance/YA novels/Children's books or whatever.

A serious writer is one who takes her writing seriously.

Mildly related question: is there *any* sort of writing whose practitioners
*don't* find themselves routinely accused of not being serious?

Marcy (who is relieved she managed to say that without getting 
      out the blowtorch)
-- 

Marcy Thompson		
  SoftQuad (West)			
    marcy@sq.com
Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: charless@sco.COM (charles stross)
Subject: Publisher production times
Organization: The Somewhat Contagious Operation, Inc.
Date: Mon, 07 Sep 1992 08:19:51 GMT
Summary: ... taking longer and longer ...


I heard from my editor last Friday to the effect that my first 
novel, which I was made an offer for in March this year, will not 
now be published until March-April 1994. Aside from the obvious
(why does it TAKE so LONG?), this leads me to ask; is it my 
imagination, or is the lead time on the midlist growing longer
for everyone? I'm not the only author I know who this has happened 
to. It used to be twelve months from contract to publication, but 
now it's stretching to two, two-and-a-half years. 

Does anyone have any insight on this?


-- Charlie (who is _well_ peeved about it) Stross

-- 
this signature rescued by the .sigfile liberation front
From: Tracie Diamond <tracie@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Date: 10 Sep 92 12:00 PDT
Subject: Looking for Script Software.
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1428100001:000:196
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!tracie    Sep 10 12:00:00 1992


Hello, 
I need to find information about a script writing computer program
for an IBM. Also, I would like to know how to get a hold of a catalog of
some sort that sells scripts.

Thanks


Tracie
From: glenn.devlin@canrem.com (glenn devlin)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: a great scriptwriting
Date: 15 Sep 92 01:49:24 GMT
Reply-To: "glenn devlin" <glenn.devlin@canrem.com>
Distribution: misc
Organization: Canada Remote Systems

I noted down the author of the book and will be looking him up
sometime - thanks for the info! Tell me, have you had any luck selling
your scripts? I havn't, and I'm working on my seventh script so far.
Gotta keep plugging away. If you have sold your script, can you share
with us the expierance and feeling of selling it? How much you made is
strictly your business, but I'm more interested how you 'broke in' etc.

I'd love to hear succes stories from other people too!

Cheers, Glenn
---
 ~ DeLuxe} 1.12 #9662 ~ Annie, go get my computer.
--
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario, Canadas
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044
Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: charless@sco.COM (AutoPope)
Subject: Re: Desktop Publishing, Fonts, and Submissions
Organization: The Somewhat Contagious Operation, Inc.
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 07:32:31 GMT
Keywords: desktop publishing fonts submissions


In article <1992Sep9.150257.4287@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov> thigpen@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov (Keith Thigpen) writes:
>There was a thread a while ago that addressed the issue of font selection,
>(actually the entire issue of dressing up a submission using DTP). At the 
>time I was unable to get to the net but saw some of the subject lines.
>
>Is is standard to use Courier font? I hope not. It may be readable, but it
>seems so, uh... pedestrian. 
>
>Anyway, what were the conclusions of this thread?
>-- 

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to that big old house
on top of the hill ...

Just  when  you  thought  the  monster was dead for good, a stake driven
through its heart, garlic bulbs stuffed in  its  oropharyngeal  orifice,
buried at a cross-roads in all its gory splendour ...

It's back! 

The Thread From Hell!

Keith:   there  were  two  general  responses  to  your  question.   The
traditionalists: ``thou shalt type double-spaced  on  one  side  of  the
paper  in twelve point courier, or thy manuscript shall be cast into the
waste-paper basket of oblivion'' ...   and  the  anti-  traditionalists:
``as  long  as  it's  readable,  _go_  for that super-duper near-typeset
quality Garamond typeface that's been cluttering up your font directory!
Make your investment pay!''

I  think  the split in opinions is significant.  I know some editors who
spend all their  time  copy-editing  with  typeset-grade  documents,  so
logically  it's  not impossible.  But on the other hand, some of the old
fogies refuse to read anything that doesn't look as if it  was  prepared
on  a  typewriter.  So what you send them depends on who you are and who
they are.  If you've never submitted a  story  before,  and  the  editor
you're targetting is a professional editor who you've never met (and who
therefore  has  no reason to give you a special reading), you _might_ be
prejudicing them against you by turning in a typeset MS.  Probably  less
so  than  a  few years ago, but it's worth worrying about.  On the other
hand, if the editor you're submitting to is one of your drinking buddies
who's editing this neat anthology and wants you to  send  something  in,
that's a different matter.

When  sending  an MS to an editor I know (which is almost all of them in
the UK), I use one of my normal drafts (in Times Roman, which I  find  a
lot  easier  on my eyes than Courier -- hint, I have eye trouble and the
serifs make word shape identification easier).  But if I'm sending an MS
to someone I don't know and who doesn't know me, I run off a version  in
Courier.  Just in case ...


-- 
this signature rescued by the .sigfile liberation front