If only they were still this easy to spot

I’m in the US but I bought a TomTom in 2008 instead of Garmin because at the time, their maps of Europe were better and we were still traveling there a lot.

One of my favorite memories was the time TomTom had us drive through someone’s sheep pasture in Scotland. The day before we had driven a paved road that went through pastures, and online comments mentioned that the road was indeed open to the public and you had to get out, open the gate, drive through, then close the gate.

So when it said to do it again, I trusted it. But the road was not paved. It was rutted and muddy. We were in a sedan, not anything with adequate ground clearance. And we totally got stuck in the mud. It was very likely not a public road. I’m so glad the farmer who owned it didn’t come out to yell at us. I rocked the car enough to get us unstuck. We came out the other side of the field, back onto pavement, and I didn’t let TomTom try to send us offroading again!

This TomTom also struggled with extreme northern latitudes. Wherever we went in Alaksa, it assumed we were about 100 yards off to the side of the road, sometimes out in the middle of Turnagain Arm 🤣, and constantly fussed at us to navigate back to the marked path.

Paper maps are still available and free in (most?) welcome centers along US interstate highways. My mom had me stop and get her new maps every year whenever I went somewhere. She passed 5 years ago, and I still have the urge to pick up a map when I’m roadtripping.

Some folks prefer slightly green bananas. Either way, I’ve converted to opening from the bottom, and find it generally less messy.

I do want one. I’ve even designed it. I can’t decide where to put it that aesthectically pleases me.

Never have I ever gotten a tattoo

I wanted so badly for the app icon to be a potted plant.

I finally got that thing off my plate that has been causing me grief for months.

I am an accountant. This comment is for discussion only and not to be used as tax advice. Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation.

Ebay reports income if you sell over $20,000 [edit: earned in 1 calendar year], and then once you’re on their 1099 list, you don’t come off it even if you sell less. The actual IRS 1099 reporting threshold is just $600 per year. Ebay is appealing to the IRS to try to limit their reporting burden. They will eventually have to report all sellers that exceed $600, but they keep getting that pushed back.

FB also issues 1099s now for sellers. I am not sure what their made up threshold is, but Marketplace has asked me for my tax info. I just took my things down and told it that I hadn’t sold them through Marketplace. And I just noticed what linearchaos suggested… list the item as ‘ask for price’. That may cut down on potential customers though. I know I scroll past items that want me to ask for price.

Do not worry if you sell enough to be issued a 1099. As mentioned before, you can subtract the cost you paid for the items, all ebay and paypal fees, and even shipping costs if you don’t charge separately for it, likely resulting in an overall loss. So no tax likely. Tax is only calculated on net income. If you start flipping obscure items of value from thrift stores, then you might get into taxable net income territory.

Finally, to your question on does it count against your unemployment benefits. Likely. However, Ebay/FB don’t report their 1099 vendors until mid- to late- January 2025 for annual 2024 payments. The reporting deadline is Jan 31. So you don’t have to worry about it until then, and again only if you exceed their made up thresholds for sales.

And here I sit with a laser pointer in my lap. Crazy cat lady by day, cyberpunk by night.

Do you make it on the stove, in a crock pot, or outside in a big pot over a fire? Where I grew up, everyone did the latter, the old fashioned way. Would turn it into a big friends & family get together and take turns stirring.

They already have our email addresses and our mobile numbers. They should be sending us calendar invites, not some scrap of cardstock I’m gonna lose. My therapist has a system that sends text reminders. Why is my doctor not up to speed.

The tightest end dump pile is still a fat line.

This is an amusing sentence out of context.

Scavengers Reign. So so good.

Car started doing weird things at a red light last week. I got the turn arrow as power steering was failing, but managed to get out of the main road and into a service road before the remaining battery completely expired. My alternator had died. I was glad not to have to manually push the car out of the road. It was raining.

Called a friend to see if they could come help us get it the rest of the way into a parking lot. Their parents had the kids and they were pondering what to do for their date night. They came to our rescue. Heart them the most.

We turned it into a double date and treated them to dinner. They called AAA for us and gave us a tow to the repair shop.

Maybe it wanted to turn around. Busch Gardens is just 40 miles back.

A very excellent point. I should have realized.

He might not have been fully up to speed yet. This sign is just past a weigh station (I’ve driven this stretch many, many times), and VDOT said he had just gone through the station. Though that doesn’t answer why the bed was up. Could have bumped the switch?

:::Edit to strike through this nonsense:::I am leaning toward the other explanation of drive shaft breaking and pole vaulting the trailer into the sign.

If that’s the case, why did they arrest the driver on reckless driving? Sounds like pure accident. Even if it was negligent maintenance, that’s not the driver’s fault, that’s on the trailer owner. Right? (IANACDL 😄)