HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: carl@Cayman.COM (Carl Heinzl)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Married/Single/Taxes
Date: 27 Jul 92 18:20:47 GMT
Organization: Cayman Systems Inc., Cambridge, MA
In-reply-to: jsp@uts.amdahl.com's message of 23 Jul 92 17:51:25 GMT
bcc: carl


>You need to remember that the tax tables were designed with the assumption
>that a married couple would have one income.  If I make a hundred thousand
>a year, and then I marry a woman who doesn't work, my taxes will indeed be 
>lower when that hundred thousand is filed as a married income rather than as 
>a single income (this can easily be seen by looking at any line on the tax
>table; for any given income, the single tax is higher than the married tax).

>But if instead my wife works and we each make fifty thousand a year, then the 
>tax on our combined one hundred thousand filed as a married income will be
>substantially higher than the combined tax on our individual fifty thousand 
>incomes filed singly.

It is also higher than if only one of you made 100k while you were
married!!!  One of the reasons for that is ***FICA***, well at least
that part that would normally end after 50 some odd thousand will be
paid for the full 100k if you have 2 incomes versus one.

-Carl-

--
From: anon@no.where (Anonymous)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Teak funiture from N. Carolina wholesaler?
Date: 29 Jul 92 15:01:28 GMT
Organization: Mail to News Gateway at Wang Labs

I was impressed by the example of saving from North Carolina wholesaler.
Do they carry teak funiture?  Do they have a catalog of their merchandise?
Would I be able to get scandinavian funiture from them?

I would greatly appreciate any information on the subject.  Please post -
Scandinavian/teak funiture questions came up several times during the last
few months...
From: ed@wente.llnl.gov (Ed Suranyi)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Misprinted Ad with great prices
Date: 23 Jul 92 19:05:19 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: UC Davis Dept of Applied Science at LLNL

In article <1992Jul23.004620.11385@oracle.us.oracle.com> ylee@oracle.uucp (Yichin Lee) writes:
<Well, Neveda Bob simply put a A-4 size poster in front of their door saying
<that this was a misprint, and they are not going to honor it.
<
<Please tell me if they are doing the right thing? Do I have something
<in my hand that I can nail them?

In general, stores are not required to honor ads that have obvious
misprints in them.

Ed
ed@wente.llnl.gov


Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: ankleand@mtl.mit.edu (Andrew Karanicolas)
Subject: Airline Antitrust Litigation
Organization: MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 02:02:51 GMT

Hello,

I recently read in the New York Times that there has been a court
decision that will force many US airlines to pay back excess ticket
fares charged over some period of time.  There was an address printed
but I think it is incorrect:

	Airline Antitrust Litigation
	PO Box 209
	Philadelphia, PA
	10107

I am almost certain that Phila. Pa does not have a 10107 zip code.
Anyone know what the correct address should be?  Any more details
about the litigation?  As I understand, the period of time in question
is several years.  I have flown Continental, USAir, Delta, United an
untold number of times in the last 5 or 6 years.  I want money back :)

-- 
Andrew Karanicolas
MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratory
ankleand@mtl.mit.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: sethb@fid.morgan.com (Seth Breidbart)
Subject: Re: MSG
Organization: my opinions only
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 02:15:48 GMT

In article <1992Jul24.180416.7080@walter.bellcore.com>
jchen@ctt.bellcore.com writes:
>In misc.consumers, the discussion should be limited to disclosure of facts.

>In the discussions of MSG, it is clear that there are conflicting facts.
>On one hand, FDA and many European governments have clinically proven
>the safty of MSG (the fact I am conveying). On the other hand, some 
>individuals are convinced that they were sickened by MSG.

The FDA never proved the safety of MSG.  The FDA accepts MSG as safe
because it has been in use for a long time (the GRAS - generally
recognized as safe - list).

Seth		sethb@fid.morgan.com

Disclaimer:  I eat Chinese food a lot.  Sometimes it has MSG.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: youngs@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (D.Youngs)
Subject: Eastman House "orthopose" beds
Summary: any feedback from someone who has bed/knows company ???????
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 00:21:18 GMT
Keywords: Eastman House, orthopose, beds

I'm thinking about buying an "orthopose" bed from Eastman House. Anyone
have one, or know anything about the manufacturer, Eastman House ???

thanks, in advance..

Doug Youngs

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: kstell@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (kevin.l.stell)
Subject: Re: Supplemantal Health Insurance??? Does it exist???
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 16:39:10 GMT

In article <BrwIDt.4w0@news.cso.uiuc.edu> weller@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (Bonnie Weller) writes:
>My husband and I were astounded this week when we figure out how much
>it will cost us in medical bills to have our baby, and this with an
>80%- 20% plan.  It turns out the deductable is $450 a year ....

Stinks doesn't it!

I have 3 children. Two were covered by conventional means (80%,20%) and 1 taken care of by an HMO. THe HMO ordeal was painless, but had more upfront costs 
(read: bigger bite out of paycheck). Checked the price of shots lately?

Soapbox mode on:

I find it ostounding, that well baby care is not covered, but achohol and
drug rehab is....

BEWARE: most policies only cover initial physician vist only. I found out the
        the hard way, when the "doc" just happened to be in the nursery to
        check up and I got the bill!!!  I don't blame the doc, he cares about
        his patients. I blame the insurance industry, slimey bast....

We need Health Care reform now !!!!!


Soapbox mode off...
.
From: staggers@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Ken Staggers)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Airline Tickets Refund Regulated by Federal Government ?
Date: 27 Jul 92 15:16:56 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.

In article <1992Jul26.215938.4609@noose.ecn.purdue.edu> shihtsun@ecn.purdue.edu (Shih-tsun Alex Chou) writes:
>I heard that Federal Government ordered four major airline companies
>(Northwestern, and ?) to refund part of the money their customs paid.

Let me end these rumors once and for all.  We do not own an airline, we
are an academic institution :)

--Ken at Northwestern, who flies Northwest Airlines a lot, and likes the
  movie North By Northwest a lot.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: colette@bwdls46.bnr.ca (Colette George)
Subject: Re: Late night infomercials
Reply-To: colette@bwdls46.bnr.ca (Colette George)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research 
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 12:13:57 GMT

In article <1992Jul29.044012.15561@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com>, billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson) writes:
|> mordea@terapin.com (Annie Benson) writes:
|> : I have cronic insomnia, and often find myself watching infomercials at 3 am. 
|> : They are weird and scaryily adictive.
|> :     Has any one out there tried any of the stuff they are hawking?  I'm
|> : especially curious about the food dehydrator that is advertised.
|> :     Related question; are ginzu knives worth the price of the postage it takes
|> : to get them?  Or are thy in real life as dull and flimsy as all get out?  I'm
|> : just curious.
|> 
|> Well, Ginsu knives are at least worth the postage - I don't know how much
|> more. I want my knives to slice through food, not saw through it.
|> 
|> The only time I can think of a serrated knife being useful is for cutting
|> hard crust french bread.
|> 
Sorry, but I have to disagree.  My grandparents gave me a set of Ginsu knives
when I got my new apartment, and I just *love* them (especially the big, square
knife).  It always give a clean cut and never needs sharpening.  I find it easy
to chop up any food with that knife.  The steak knives are just fine for cutting
meat, although I wouldn't use them for anything else.  

-- 
===================================================================
Colette George 			
Bell-Northern Research Ltd. 	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Internet:  colette@bnr.ca 
===================================================================
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: monty@blackhole.lerc.nasa.gov (Monty Andro)
Subject: Whats in "Liquid Smoke" ?
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Distribution: misc
Date: 21 Jul 92 09:16:16


Hello,

My wife bought a food additive called Liquid Smoke that gives food a
smoke/BBQ flavor.  I was just wondering what ingredient(s) makes up
the smoke flavor ?  The ingredients label on the bottle does not help
much; it just lists "natural liquid smoke" and a few other items.

Monty
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:14725 rec.radio.shortwave:6002 rec.photo:13394
From: ems@michael.apple.com (E. Michael Smith)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.radio.shortwave,rec.photo
Subject: Re: WARNING KODAK batteries leaked!
Date: 31 Jul 92 07:47:29 GMT
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA

In article <wb9omc.712523592@dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu> wb9omc@dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick) writes:
>
>With reference to the leaky KODAK batteries, I have to wonder if that
>was an isolated experience.  I have been using KODAK batteries in
>all manner of equipment for quite some time and NEVER, EVER once
>had a leaking battery.  I *do* scrupulously follow manufacturers
>suggestions on these things......

I did put a bit of a disclaimer in there that I'd done something 
technically discouraged (mixed old Kodak with new other brand batteries).

It IS quite possible that this is just a statistical oddity intersecting
with (minor) misuse.  On the other hand, it's not like I ran these
things into the ground with reverse polarity... the radio stops before
the voltage gets that low and I'd only used it for a short time after
they were moved to the main power compartment.

IF Kodak batteries have a failure mode of:  Use for 1 yr. in a very very
low drain application, move to high drain for one hour, wait a week (or 2)
and leak.  It is very unlikely anyone would hit it.  But I'd rather avoid it.  

>Quite honestly, it has been YEARS since I have seen ANY battery
>leak....

That is what was so shocking to me.  It just doesn't happen anymore,
yet it did.  That and the lack of any guarantee on the battery ...

I LOVE Kodak products (Kodachrome and Ektar are minor miracles...
then there is TMAX ... 3200 ASA and modest grain...  I have this
wonderful 8x10 of my son and wife taken in ambient darkness that
is priceless ...) and wouldn't have even bothered to bring this up
if either of two things had pertained.

1)  If it had a 'return it and we will fix or replace' guarantee.  I'd
have still just washed the radio and taken my chances rather than 
hastle sending it through the mail, but I'd have felt that they
were standing behind their product and I just got a very unusual batch.

2)  If they really made their own batteries rather than just putting
their label on someone else's manufacture.  I have a natural tendency
to distrust things that are just re-labels of whoever had the best
contract bid this year ...  IF the batteries are manufactured to a
very strong spec of Kodak then Kodak ought to stand by their spec.
See #1 above ...

Basically, It is well worth it to me to put a set of batteries in my
$200 radio, my $400 radio (the Lugable...), my $500 camera, and my $1000
camera, that have a guarantee on the side.  Even if it is only for a
once in a decade risk...  I'd not paid that much attention before to 
that guarantee, having been lulled into a sense of false security
by decades of no leakers, but it just became important to me ;-)

-- 

E. Michael Smith  ems@apple.COM

'Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has
 genius, power and magic in it.'  -  Goethe

I am not responsible nor is anyone else.  Everything is disclaimed.
From: cp01081@dcsc.dla.mil (Eric A Yruegas)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: How to cancel a credit card (Mastercard or Visa)
Date: 29 Jul 92 16:54:56 GMT
Organization: Defense Construction Supply Center, Columbus

In article <14699@umd5.umd.edu> dmatthews@uap.umd.edu writes:
>Why not phone them and find out what they require?  I suggest the most
>important thing is timing -- cancel before they send out the bill for your
>next annual fee.

You mention timing - when I cancelled my Citibank Classic Visa, it was
right *after* I had been billed for the annual fee...  (That was why I was
cancelling it! :) )  After the long diatribe with the tele-slime who trys
to get you to keep the card "For all it's benefits,"  I got a letter in the
mail about 3 days later - saying that my account balance had been "adjusted"
for the fees and such - it was removed.  That's about the only *good* thing
I can say about it...  :)

Also - I didn't have to "cut-up" or send back the card - they told me to just
destroy it, or keep it if I thought I would like the account re-activated...
They never do give up...

Eric
I don't speak for nobody.  Not even my employer.  :)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,uiuc.consumers
From: hberg@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Steven D Hilberg)
Subject: Re: SAM's Club Horror Story (LONG)
Keywords: SAM's Club, photo
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 13:34:45 GMT

In article <BrpAIC.82x@news.cso.uiuc.edu> tyao@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (Tim Yao) writes:
>
>I would like to share with you a sad story of my misadventure with
>SAM's Club's photo developing.  The story does not yet have an ending


[remainder of long story deleted]

Your situation is indeed unfortunate, but it happens (not to excuse
Sam's though).  About 10 years ago I won fourth place in a local photo
contest.  The prize was a 11x14 color print of the slide.  The contest
sponsor was a film manufacturer, and the contest was run by 
Consolidated Camera (it used to be on Green near 6th).  When my print
arrived, I was very unsatisfied - the colors were muddy, and it was
grainy.  CC agreed and sent it back to the lab to be redone.  But, 
when the print came back, it was still lousy, but---no slide.  They
tried to locate it for me but the lab was unable to turn it up.  I 
still think I'll see that photo in some ad someday....

Good luck.

-Steve-
-- 
Steve Hilberg       __     "Some people are weatherwise but 
               *   /--      most are otherwise."  BF
              * * x
               * 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Sharpening knives (was: Using your friends)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 04:05:31 GMT

lawson@acuson.com (Drew Lawson) writes:
: 
: The instructions I had years ago (Chicago Cutlery) recommended a single
: pass dull side first followed by 3-4 passes sharp side first, repeated
: as necessary.  The first pass serves to catch any pieces that have
: folded back from the edge.
 
If anything fold back on a knife when it gets dull, then the knife is not
worth having - except for possibly weeding the garden.

Bill
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu (Nathan F. Janette)
Subject: Re: ATTN: Citibank Cardholders
Reply-To: nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu
Organization: Yale University, Department of Computer Science, New Haven, CT
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 20:50:01 GMT

In article <9207211824.AA13102@TIS.COM> dave@TIS.COM ("David I. Dalva") writes:
> They did not change the closing date.  They changed the
> payment due date. How many people here have noticed this? 

If that isn't enough to make you drop them, how about the
notice they sent out a month ago about the rates becoming
variable instead of fixed.  Sounds good at first, until
you catch the line that states they can transfer the
entire balance to their highest rate (19.8%) if they
decide you've been a bad person. 

Goodbye, Citibank Goldcard!

--
Nathan Janette		"I'm a NeXTstep man,
Dept MB&B, Yale Univ	 I'm a NeXTcube guy"
New Haven, CT
nathan@laplace.biology.yale.edu (NeXT)
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: middle class/affording a house
Date: 29 Jul 92 05:41:29 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA

emolinar@stake.DaytonOH.NCR.COM (Elizabeth Molinaro) writes:
: 
:         What has amazed me about this conversation is that (aside from what I
: will say) only ONE person has advocated a little bit of buying/spending
: restraint in order to save to buy a house.

No, there were at least two of us.

... Excellent advice deleted ...

:         7.  Life is not too short to live frugally for a year or two, in 
:             order to accomplish large goals.  And who said frugal had
:             to be boring????  Life is always what YOU make of it: money
:             is only a part of the equation, not the whole.

Exactly - having gone this route myself, I know it can be done.

I actually got a second job to help pay off the down payment - which was a
personal note to the person from whom I bought the house.

It was not highly pleasant, and sometimes downright uncomfortable, but still
well worth the effort.

Bill
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: fort@ctt.bellcore.com (Wendell Fortune)
Subject: MCI Survey
Followup-To: fort@ctt.bellcore.com
Keywords: MCI, cash, survey 
Reply-To: fort@ctt.bellcore.com
Organization: Bellcore, Piscataway NJ
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 92 14:21:02 GMT

This past weekend I rececieved a call from a survey company stating they've been
requested (by some unknown company) to do a survey on MCI's billing structure.
SO they want to review my MCI telephone bill and in return they'll give me
$20 cash. How often does something like this happen? Is this a scam? Legal? Is
the anonymous company an MCI competitor trying to get data to make themselves
competitive? Have others received such offers?

-- 
Wendell Fortune
(PHONE) (908) 699-4505  
(INTERNET) fort@ctt.bellcore.com
(UUCP)  ...!bellcore!ctt!fort
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: niebuhr@bnlux1.bnl.gov (david niebuhr)
Subject: Re: How do I know if it's beneficial to file jointly?
Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 17:07:58 GMT

In article <1992Jul22.162137.20407@mdd.comm.mot.com> ceng@mdd.comm.mot.com (Curtis Eng) writes:
>O.K. here's some questions for all you tax experts:
>
>I'm getting married on new year's eve at 5:00 p.m.  If I sign the marriage
>license on Dec. 31, does that mean we can file jointly on April 15, 1993?
>
Yes.  The cutoff point for the closing year is 2359 (24-hour clock)
or 12:59PM.

>And if I can, would it help us out to file jointly if:
>
>a.  Our household income is about $70,000+.

Depends.  Previous posts covered this.

>b.  I make more money than she does.

Again, it depends; mostly on how much more and a lot of other
intangibles.

>c.  She is somewhat wealthy, and had to pay a lot because she has a lot of stocks
>    and investments and a house.

Get an accountant to do your taxes.      

>d.  I will get a decent refund.
>
Again, it depends on the individual situation.

>Thanks in advance for any advice.

Dave

Dave Niebuhr      Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093

-- 

Dave Niebuhr      Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: dw@unislc.uucp (Dan Wright)
Subject: Re: Telephone Aswering Machine
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Organization: Unisys Corporation SLC
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 02:23:21 GMT

rmakarem@usc.edu (Total Stranger) writes:
: Now I am in the market for an answering machine, and I need
: recommendations.  

I buy the answering service from the local phone company.

: Here are the features I am looking for:
: - Separate cassettes for the outgoing message and the incoming
:   messages (micro or regular cassettes.)

The phone company keeps a digital recording of your
"greeting" which you can modify any time.  Your messages
are also recorded digitally on some hard disk at the phone
company.

: - Day/time stamp.

Pressing menu choice "5" gives you the stamp.

: - Battery backup.  Must reset itself after a power failure.

Phone companies use uninterruptable power supplies.

: - Remote activation and message retrieval.

Just call the access number from any phone and type in your passwd ...

: - Must stop and reset if any phone handset is picked up after
:   the machine starts to answer.

Does.

: - Relatively quiet operation.

Perfectly silent.

: - Inexpensive (or am I asking too much?)

$6.50 per month.


 -- Dan Wright
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house,misc.rural
From: mcnc!fns-nc1.fns.com!gcm (Grover McCoury)
Subject: Weedeater recommendations
Organization: Fujitsu Network Switching
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 12:23:11 GMT

I am seeking recommendations for good, reliable *gas-powered* Weedeaters.
A friend of mine suggested Poulan brand. Anybody have any other suggestions?

Thanx 

/*********************************************************************
  Grover McCoury
  @ Fujitsu Network Switching Of America, Inc.
    4403 Bland Road
    Raleigh,    NC   27609
  audio:      919-790-3111
  electronic: ...!mcnc!fns-nc1!gcm
*********************************************************************/


Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.autos,rec.autos.tech
From: eur@dutncp2.tn.tudelft.nl (Eur van Andel)
Subject: Re: WARNING: 1987 Mazda 323 Defect
Organisation: TU Delft, The Netherlands
Organization: Delft University of Technology
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 11:31:41 GMT

In <1992Jul29.044442.15682@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com> billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson) writes:

>sga@cray.com (Steven G. Anderson) writes:
>: 
>: We recently had a bad experience with my wife's 1987 Mazda 323,
>: and from our conversation with the service people, this is
>: sounding like a generic problem with 1987 Mazda 323's.  Read,
>: they have seen this problem before.  The problem is that a
>: "key" which holds the timing gear in sync with the crankshaft
>: breaks.  This also causes damage to the crankshaft itself.
   ^^^^^^       
>: Total repair bill is around $2000.  Worse yet, my wife had
>: gotten an extended warranty (before I met her) and they
>: refuse to cover it.  We are appealing to the State Insurance
>: Commission.  The problem appears to occur around 50,000
>: miles.  I will also be writing to Mazda and the Consumer Products
>: Safety Commission.

>Damage to the crankshaft? I can understand damage to the pistons
>or valves or lifters or push rods. I don't know of any way that
>the crankshaft could be damaged.
Like he said: the key-hole in the crankshaft is worn out.
From: jwc@netxcom.netx.com (Jeff Comer)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Rental Cars & Additional Drivers
Date: 30 Jul 92 17:45:17 GMT
Organization: The Chaos Bobs

staggers@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Ken Staggers) writes:
>In upstate NY, a few rental companies will not let you take the car into
>NY city because their insurance doesnt cover it.  Now in NYState you are
>only responsible for $100.00 of damage to a car.  But if you knowingly
>violate a contract you signed which stated you would not take the car
>into the city, you *might* be liable for the whole amount (I have never
>read the entire NY State consumer law on this, so there could be holes
>in it) and your insurance company might balk at paying anything over
>$100.00.  

Reminds me of the time we rented a car in Atlanta for a drive down the
West Coast of Florida. The first thing the rental agent tells us, "You
can't take the car into Florida." Great; we're already a 5-mile ride from
the airport. So we took the car anyway ("Florida? Where's that...?").
Curiously, the car (and all others in the lot) has Florida tags. It's
like some sort of scam going on here.... But there was no Florida provi-
sion on the contract, just a verbal statement, so I felt we were safe. 
And no, we didn't buy the CDW that day either.

-jc