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What did you do today?


riceboy

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I took the day, I just didnt feel like getting ready for work this morning.

Hooked up the nugget audio speakers, which replaced the insignias.

Less bass, but way more detail, which is actually a good thing, as I've been thinking of adding a REL sub to the computer audio setup.

These things are beasts :cool:

I just realized I've been meaning to replace the insignias since sometime in 2006, maybe early 2007, when I bought them. They were never intended as long term. Its hilarious that I took this long to replace them, but also that their replacements were not much more money. Funny how stuff works out. They may migrate over to the t.v. if I dont buy Thiel or Quad monitors for that purpose.

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I took the day, I just didnt feel like getting ready for work this morning.

Hooked up the nugget audio speakers, which replaced the insignias.

Less bass, but way more detail, which is actually a good thing, as I've been thinking of adding a REL sub to the computer audio setup.

These things are beasts :cool:

Wuhoo! And of course, pics or ban. :)

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Started - yeah, a little late in the game - reading up on all the ways my UK taxes will differ from <cough>pay for healthcare free at the point of delivery, MP's expenses and suck more than</cough> my USA taxes.

Set up new printer/scanner in my den since the old scanner chose tax season to die.

Ordered JH 13s.

FTFY

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FTFY
Not wanting to take a deep, deep dive down the political well here, let's just say that both my US and UK taxes pay for some public policies that I'm pleased to help pay for and some that I'm not. To be honest I haven't yet crunched the numbers to see which one is really the most painful monetarily all things considered. But the UK tax law primers I'm reading make the universe of things that are taxable here seem bigger and scarier than the US system that I'm at least accustomed to.

Example: sale of our home in California closed after we had arrived here in the UK. We should have opened a separate bank account to receive the capital gains. Because, you see, it was income realized after we had become UK residents. Therefore this income - in the USA but received whilst 'resident and ordinarily resident' in the UK - may (like all tax primers these are full of mays and coulds) contaminate the other money we have in the US with which it is now commingled, potentially subjecting any portion of that larger pot that is later remitted into the UK into something with significantly less enjoyable tax treatment once it reaches these shores.

I honestly don't have all the details down yet. Just the outlines, but they're unsettling.

I think I just realized why I'm having trouble getting to sleep tonight and sitting here at the computer instead.

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^

I feel your pain having come in the other direction.

International tax law seems like one big con.

Trying to read up on , and get definitive information, so as to allow for some sensible planning and modeling outcomes of actions seems like a non starter.

All the rules seem discretionary, so you have no way knowing how they will be applied to you, until they are!

Any information that is out there is couched in caveats, and advice to "refer to a professional", although finding someone with relevant expertise in the required area is problematic.

A case in point. Some other ex pats we knew were returning back to the UK, having rented out their house while they were in the USA.

If they sold their house in the UK, in a tax year when they were non resident in the UK, then they would be exempt from capital gains on the sale of the house in the UK.

If they sold the house after their return, they might be liable to capital gains made while non resident.

So essentially they were forced to sell their house before returning home in order to definitely avoid some possible liability.

They then bought a new home in a new location in the UK as the husband was relocating with his company. Only to be made redundant shortly after his return to the UK. :(

The uncertainty and time horizons involved make this a less fun subject.

Selling and Buying a house as an ex-pat involves timing three markets (Selling house market, foreign exchange rate market, buying house market), so whatever you do will be non optimal.

Don't get me started on rates/charges for foreign currency transactions.

At least now there are come currency brokers who can set you up with some ForEx Options to give you a hedge against currency fluctuations. (e.g an option to purchase currency at a fixed rate, in advance, for a price :) )

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<hypno-eyes>Join us. Don't be afraid. You know you want to. All your friends are here, waiting to welcome you. It's so peaceful here. Here, drink this. It makes crossing over so much easier. Soon you will be among us.</hypno-eyes>

Nope. Or at least not for now. They are gradually getting less and less practical for me which is good.

As for me: Put new fork mount bike racks on the roof of my Subaru. Pretty excited about that since I'll get to use them for a 2 day riding trip in WV in about 2 weeks if not before. Been working so much this week that no riding for 3 days at this point. I miss it. I keep looking at new vehicles but the fact that both of ours still work great and are entirely paid off just keeps me from buying any others. Though I am thinking of buying a rack for my Civic as well.

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I just spent an hour on AIM, talking to my good friend Sean. I explained to him why I could hear the difference between V0 mp3s and FLACs, using pictures of my headphone rig as it has evolved over the last 5 years. He thought I was nuts, but understood my point. It was an amusing tale to tell. I might turn it into a Pick of your setup post.

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Nope. Or at least not for now. They are gradually getting less and less practical for me which is good.

As for me: Put new fork mount bike racks on the roof of my Subaru. Pretty excited about that since I'll get to use them for a 2 day riding trip in WV in about 2 weeks if not before. Been working so much this week that no riding for 3 days at this point. I miss it. I keep looking at new vehicles but the fact that both of ours still work great and are entirely paid off just keeps me from buying any others. Though I am thinking of buying a rack for my Civic as well.

JH13 woud be great on the trainer :)

You know you're serious about cycling when your bikes are worth more than your cars. Sounds like this might already be the case or at least your getting close.

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JH13 woud be great on the trainer :)

You know you're serious about cycling when your bikes are worth more than your cars. Sounds like this might already be the case or at least your getting close.

With the computrainer I have to have my laptop on anyway so I just pump music through the speakers. Not high fidelity but it keeps me happy.

Yeah I've spent more on cycling in the last year than my Honda is worth. I'm sure I'll clear the Subaru before the end of this year. I'll likely get a TT bike each for me and my wife. For her it makes sense but for me not so much. That and upgrading my training bike to something a bit nicer would be cool. I'm thinking of a Neuvation FC100 or Motobecane Imortal whatever; nice enough that I will like it but cheap enough I don't really give a shit if I break it. And don't forget cyclocross in the fall....

:palm:

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Urgh!!! I just backed into a light pole at the grocery store in my Ford Edge. Not a huge amount of damage, but I'm sure it would cost $500 to respray the bumper. Got in a rush and was careless. Oh well, can't keep cars in mint condition forever. Still frustrating though, especially when you have nobody to blame but yourself.

So now I'll have to decide in the next couple of days what will be more frustrating: to toss money away to fix it, or to be continually reminded of my mistake every time I look at it as is. Very similar to Matt's little incident at DanJam. Part of me says, "Ehh, just let it be" and the other part says, "Go fix it and pretend it never happened."

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