Yay - it's the Tax, Man

This Monday, why is it different than other Mondays? I received my completed tax returns this day. Those following the OzWiz saga remember on Friday when I was just about to receive my completed returns - fed & state - the preparer's computer CRASHED so I was unable to have completed copies. Don, the preparer, was kind enough to take all my stuff home with him and complete the process over the week-end. Now THAT IS a dedicated volunteer. Profuse kudos to him. Eat your hearts out H and R.

By rearranging my medical appointments I was able to get my tax forms as well as attend today's Book Club at our Senior Center where the discussion was of Alexander McCall Smith's "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" a quick read 'mystery' novel that all of us enjoyed. The heroine main character is a resident of Botswana so one learns a lot about her, her dad, the people and the country. The author, white male, writes as if he were black, female. We learn that he spent time in that country and others in the dark continent, that he has authored 50 or more books, mostly technical medical ones. He now resides in Scotland with his wife and two daughters.

This volume is the first of four (some book clubbers had read all) in this series whetting our appetites to read the rest. Not a brand new series, most readers learned of them by word of mouth, as you are doing. Next time in your jasmin live library or friendly bookseller, look it up, take it home and read it. The OzWiz believes you will like it.

In today's mail was an ad card from Abbott Immunology about rheumatoid arthritis (I suspect Abbott has a drug to tame it) and in order to find out information about the reader's history of the disease several questions are posed, most about what kind of arthritis, what drugs being used and whether you are interested in receiving more literature on this subject from Abbott. What really struck me was this question:

What best describes you? and you check the appropriate box

Male

Female

Also in today's mail, our LCACE News JOURNAL for April. Imagine my surprise when I opened it; on the first page - in color - are candidates for our officers in the coming year and yes, that's the OzWiz in the lower right hand corner. If successful I promise to blah, blah and blah.

Today is Opening Day for Baseball - a few earlier games were played in Japan & Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, but the REAL season begins this day. Since a lot of "experts" pick the Chicago Cubs to win it all I see no reason to watch any of the games. We 'know' the NYYankees will run away with the pennant in the other circuit so again, why follow them?

As baseball begins, basketball ends ... tonight for the men, Tuesday for the ladies. Uconns are in both finals. I wish them good luck.

Also understand that Microsoft was created this day some years back. Gates present was from Sun; let's stop all this squabbling, you give me 1.6-billion dollars and we can be buddies. They each drank a toast of Java and went to bed as the deal was worked out @ 4:15 a.m. Oh yes, Sun gives pink slips to 3,300 employees. Toasts all around.

Hello, this is the OzFIZZ writing

my goodness, BOTH Duke and Oklahoma State lost yesterday in close, down to the micro second finishes thus upending my yesterday predictions. Dare I suggest a winner on Monday evening?

Since I'm Nutmeg State born I would hope the Yukons would win it all, again avenging their early season loss to the GeoTechers. This one, as all, when you get deep into the pools, will have excitement, thrill of victory, defeat's agony.

On today's distaff games I like UConn and Tennessee, both well coached and with great players. Too early to suggest the ultimate winner.

As this is the Sunday of Palms, get yours out and continue computing. You might even do a few Hand Springs.

Our Chicago Tribune has the best computer columnist/guru Jim Coates, who writes on Sundays and Mondays. I read him most times as I did today when he was informing us about how simple and easy it is to have your own web site by going to and using for a small price. In fact, users receive a thirty day free trial.

Now the stamp club here in Lake County has their web site, which was conceived and maintained by a young man who was struck down at age 30 by Cancer. Since then our site has been idle. Would Mr. Coat's suggestion be the answer to reviving it?

I clicked onto their site. Yep, several levels, looks good at six dollars a month for the lowest, which would have most of what we need. Upon further exploration I found, in the tiniest of type, there is a one time $20.00 set up fee. They are entitled to it, but let's be out front in regular size type about it.

I Googled "free/low cost website builders" to see many more. One low cost of less than five monthly bucks had a $99.95 set-up fee. The large type giveth, the small type taketh away.

Still, all this toil that one had to go thru to learn how to is now outsourced to sites such as this one. The OzWiz needs to further look into this one.

The Pope Joan author blessed Gurnee today

Donna Cross, author of the popular novel, Pope Joan, was the guest of the Friends of Warren-Newport Library, Gurnee, this afternoon.

As both Diane and I had read her book as it was a selected read for the book club at our Senior Center we signed on early to see & hear her. The turnout was large, with only a few males, myself included, in the audience. Since the heroine of her novel turned the Church upside down in the 9th century Pope Joan was someone special for Jasminelive women.

Donna Cross spent years researching this book both here and in Europe. She offered evidence that for those who believe there really was such a person. She expressed her thoughts in a convincing and witty manner so in the Q & A session afterwards no one challenged her on the idea of there being one female Pope.

An autographed copy of this book was not won by either Diane or myself so we tried to purchase a copy. Too late, all sold out. Her publisher had supplied what they deemed an appropriate number to the library, however it was far short of demand.

Donna only mentioned in passing that her book is being made "into a major motion picture." I came away with the idea that it will be awhile before it gets into production. Who would I like to see as the main character? She needs to be a plain looking woman who can pass herself off as a man as Pope Joan did during her two + years as Pope. Tough call.

The OzWiz suggests that you check it out from your library or purchase it at your favorite book seller. If nothing else it is a good read. Will you be convinced? You tell me.

OK, Final Four time. The OzWiz goes with his choices of Duke and OK State with State prevailing in the championship game. I look for a close and exciting final game as well as the semis. Good luck to all who have these teams in their pools.

The ongoing 10th Casino license saga continues with the Attorney General not getting answers to her direct questions, rather elusive replies that creates more questions. Turns out as well the the Isle of Capri, the "winner" of the Rosemont license isn't as well heeled as they claimed. Building a casino on borrowed bucks? Illinois won't take kindly to this option.

Meanwhile Waukegan feels they are still in the mix. They learned that they were the first choice by the selection panel as they had offered the most monies for the license. In today's week-end edition of the Waukegan NewsSun two prepaid postcards were inserted to be filled out and mailed to our governor pumping for the 10th license to go to Waukegan. There is no other choice on the cards, go with Waukegan or don't send it.

The OzWiz is not losing any sleep over it ... except the one hour most of us lose overnight when clocks are jumped ahead an hour. You Arizona folks (as well as in the HI, PR and bits of states) pay no attention to that man behind the OzWiz curtin. Leave your clocks be.

Adding to yesterday's Foolishness

Being the Day of Fools the OzWiz figured that Diane was pranking me when she told me that Gateway Computers was closing all its retail stores, quickly, she added.

Unfortunately, no April Fool joke, especially to all those employees of that firm, including one of our friends who works at our nearby Gateway store. He had joined Gateway in the last year, over from Circuit City and now he will be looking for another chaturbate job. Our Best Buy is yet to open, however I'm certain they are staffed and if all the former Gatewayers come knocking only their resumes will be taken.

We bought two notebooks, a digital camera, a scanner/copier/printer combo and lesser items from the Cowhide Box folks; one notebook Christmastime purchase is still working on "no payments for 6-months" - does that mean they still expect payment for same? Maybe that's why they folded ... hang on guys, my check's in the mail.

Today was Income Tax Day whereby I take my attempt at figuring out what taxes I need to submit over to our local library where Volunteers do the figuring for us senior type folks. One needs to get their early, even before the library opens, take a number - I was SIX this morning - and patiently wait for your number to be called.

By 9:20 I was in and displayed the required info, last year's returns, all the forms and my worksheets. Don, my guy, was working with his IBM notebook typing in all this data, slowly. He has been doing this for 14-years however this was the first time using a computer so it was slow work. Once he finished Jack, a 24-year volunteer veteran, comes over to check, double-check Don's work. He found some additional deducts that eventually wiped out any monies that I might have owed our state and gave Don the OK to print out the forms for me. All of them came out of the printer, except one. The notebook had crashed. Off went the power.

Jack & Don futzed around with it, battery out, back in, unplug, plug, push buttons, mild cuss words. Finally the power was on, then off almost as soon. Nothing.

Don would take this computer in for repairs, my tax forms home to reconstruct them over the week-end on his home computer and would have them ready for me on Monday morning. These volunteers only are there Monday & Friday mornings 9 to noon and only thru last of these days before the 15th.

The really good news is that I saved a bunch of money on my taxes. All that I paid in last year will return and I owe nothing to the state of IL.

Lookee who will join me in the 80's MARLON BRANDO, who had roots in Lake County during his youth. When I was working I was so rich that I used to go buy his place every day ... make that go BY his place on my way to work. I was told by the young lady who I drove to work each day and was a classmate of Marlon's that was his home. Now it turns out that this home in question belonged to a relation and while he may have visited there, his family home was in the vicinity of Hawley & Gilmer Road near Mundelein, in the opposite direction. You can't believe everything you hear.

Marlon was a naughty boy while in Lake County. He left high school early, some say not voluntary, seems he drove a motorcycle down the hallway of his school, his grades reflected his behavior. Maybe he was working on his The Wild One (1953 movie) personna. Anyway he left our county, ended up on his own island in the South Seas and had plenty of trouble since. So, Marlon, wherever you are in your wheelchair, HAPPY 80th. May you have many more ... and I join you in them!

I feel FOOLISH today

Really do. How could the type size of yesterday's (as well as previous ones) jump so BIG? The OzWiz really didn't want THAT much attention or to take up that much band width, length & height. Today I am eating humble pie, however, this advice ... GET OVER IT ...

Google is going to offer free e-mail starting this April Fool's Day, but not all jesters will get in on the opening. Their name is G-MAIL and I signed on for further information about it at their site.

Let's see, a-mail, b-mail, c-mail, d-mail ... oh, we already have e-mail and now the gee spot has been taken. I think I get a lot of s-mail.

The passing parade added two more now that Peter Ustinov and Alfred (his given first name) Cooke have gone. Both were wonderful gentlemen who added a bit of class to our lives, Peter, such a tremendous actor and mimic as part of his everyman niche, Cooke, who I learned so much from during his hosting of great TV as Omnibus and Masterpiece Theatre. Interesting obits of each in the NY Times ... they know how to write them.

If you are a SenCit, as I am, have you written your obit? I read others daily, if I am not in them, then I go about my business, however most obits are written by a disinterested party duly noting the basics and sometimes not even that. Folks have interests, friends, have done special things in their lives, been to wonderful places, their works and hobbies filled part of their lives. To make sure YOU get the obit you want write it yourself, put it on a disk, tell your spouse/companion where it is and damn the cost of printing it. You won't need to pay for it, the tab goes to your estate. Writing your own isn't as easy as you may think.

Kodak, International Paper and AT and T got their obits written by Dow Jones today as they will be replaced on the 30-Dow Jones Stock Averages this month. Hard to believe that George Eastman's camera/film company has fallen from favor - digital photography was their obit word - hey, we still use paper even if e or g mails abound and Alexander Graham Bell is turning over in his grave as the Bells and others have shown their Ma Bell the door.

Three days and counting down

This is a time of reflection for veterans of the second World War. Last week there was the dedication of the Memorial for them in Washington, DC, a commemorative stamp was issued for that occasion and in a few days we observe the 60th anniversary of "D-Day" when the Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy and paratroopers floated down over the Low Countries and France.

This marked the beginning of the end of military operations in Europe, hard fought, too many casualties and a job well done by ALL our troops. As I write there are TV documentaries and stories of June 6th many by those who participated in the invasion and beyond.

At that time this OzWiz was a cryptographer in India helping plot the truly first raid by our XX Bomber Command B29 Superfortresses over SE Asia, which took place on the same day. Of course, we attracted little attention because the BIG STORY was (as it should be) the long awaited invasion of Europe by Allied Forces.

Those veterans who are able and wanting to are re-visiting the Omaha Beach - along with other landing sites - reliving D-Day. Some are meeting old comrades and quietly celebrating this anniversary. Grateful French also have their Bonjour out for those who they remember as young soldiers who liberated them from the Germans.

I don't believe any of the crews of the B29s who carried out their June 6th raid are back flying over SE Asia nor are the natives on the ground even thinking about that day 60-years ago. But those who were involved in this operation WILL remember.