HBE4

Uhh, maybe. Or maybe not. Tax laws are constantly being tweaked every year. I found this out when I tried to resell tickers to several sporting events I could not attend. Never had an issue in years past until last year. New IRS rule says that anything over $600 (I think) is taxable income. And I was just over the threshold. For credit card rewards point, they are not taxable as it's considered a rebate. Unless it comes from a sign-on bonus with no spending requirements or other strings attached. So in the vast majority of cases, not taxable. Disclaimer: I am not a tax specialist or attorney by any stretch of the imagination. Just a guy that uses Goggle. I'd triple check my sources & seek out your own. I will not be held accountable nor reimburse anyone that takes my advice. You'll find out if you owe taxes when your credit card company sends you a 1099-MISC. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/110614/are-credit-card-rewards-considered-taxable-income-irs.asp https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/advice/are-credit-card-rewards-taxable/ https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/credit-card-rewards-count-taxable-income/

I too have a bunch if old manuals, boxed away, Out of sight and out of mind. And I can very well relate to your problem. 🙂

I would always joke that if my pager went off while in a public place, I would loudly talk into my Timex wristwatch while cupping my ear with my other hand - pretending to have a ear piece I guess - and say "Tell The President he'll just have to wait until I get there" 😀

When I started my I.T. career in the 80's, we took turns having the beeper, on-call one week at a time. No remote connectivity during off hours so you'd have to drive into the office to fix the problem. That's always fun at 2 am on a winters night. At the time, it was a 25-30 minute drive for me. One weekend was really bad & I had to go into the office on 4 or 5 different occasions. Next time it was my turn, my boss took pity on me & booked a hotel across the street from the office, all food and drinks paid & I could have my future DW stay with me too, with all her food and drinks paid. My first career job was COBOL programmer on IBM mainframes. Hate those SC07 (bad data) and having to read hexadecimal dumps (aka Egyptian Hieroglyphics ) to figure what and where it came from .....at the aforementioned 2 am winter night. And the dozens of 500 page IBM manuals were useless.

Yes! I think they only lasted one iteration. LOL Well, maybe slightly longer but not much.

That's the thing about Apples. They just work, out of the box, seamlessly & the same across all devices. And I'm a Windows/Android guy. In the the office, it was all DOS 3.1/Windows computers for everyone unless you worked in one of the "artsy" department - designers or marketing - then you got an Apple computer. But you really had to justify the extra expense. And even though I don't own a truck, it's always Ford. Up until recently, owned many a Ford products with mostly good success. My dad was a Ford man.

Back in the days when I was an I.T. professional, my company issued Blackberry's for corporate use as both Android & iPhone were deemed too vulnerable. My next company issued me an iPhone as a work phone. Being an Android guy, it was culture shock. It wasn't until I was about to leave that company that Androids became "secure enough" to use as a work phone & I could stop carrying around 2 phones with me wherever I went. This was during the 2010's decade.

I was about to make the same joke. Good thing I read ahead as I don't have to suffer the wrath of @Sea Dog😉😇 Just kidding. 30 years ago, people were either Team Apple or Team Windows. No defections to the other camp were allowed. Now it's either Team iPhone or Team Android.

Are you paying for your cruise in cash? 😄 LOL, I stopped counting at 5K.

Twitter

Royal continues to offer a little something for everyone. I'm not sure how big the venue is but on a 6,000+ passenger ship, no doubt they will have no problem selling it out in spite of the $200 price tag & formal dress requirement. At least in the short term.

A body in motion stays in motion.

Are the red zones numbered by rank? If so, it makes sense that Florida has both #1 & #2 if the stories I hear about The Villages are true. 😀

The sharer of Allure cabin thread sure likes to get the pot stirring & then disappear. Well, just sitting quietly in shadows while people have "spirited" debated about fair compensation & making assumptions. I tried to build upon @Ocean Boy "My Cousin Vinny" post & take the thread in a different direction. Probably what got the thread deleted. That's my my contribution to keeping the forum sane.😅

Anse Chastanet, https://ansechastanet.com/ At the time, it was one of the few resorts on that side of St. Lucia which was still a bit new to the tourism game 30 years ago. It was built in such a way as to blend in with the hillside jungle. Very secluded, very quiet & perfectly romantic and most of all, relaxing which was much needed. We had done all the partying & usual activities 1 week earlier in Antigua. EDIT: Just saw your post about having 2nd thoughts on the catamaran excursion. If it's for snorkeling, do it. The snorkeling is amazing. At least, 30 years ago it was. And it was only my 2nd time ever, the first being a week earlier in Antigua. Maybe read some current reviews by experienced people. 🙂

I think most people get the context that sometimes a "like" button is really more of a "acknowledgement" button when it comes to bad or sad news, as in I acknowledge (feel) your pain.

Too many people to list & I'm sure I'll forget someone so I just wanted to say thank you to for the well wishes, thoughts, hugs, prayers and encouragement! @George C My condolences on your loss of JoeBob, I've had many dogs and cats in my lifetime it's never easy, especially when it happens so quickly & they are struggling. A very sad ending to what seems to be a trifecta of a bad day.

Thank you. The hotel we stayed at in St Lucia had a hilltop villa where the entire 4th wall could be opened to the balcony for this view. Not a bad view to wake up to, if you didn't mind sharing living quarters with a few birds and cute, colorful, little lizards. Beds had a mosquito net should it get to buggy, which is never did. Just added to the "rustic, nature luxury" of the resort. The photo is off the internet since the 30 yo pictures I have didn't scan very well but this is almost the identical view.

Thank you. Sending hugs back to you.

Thank you. I am, mostly. On most days.

Also, just came across another Taylor Swift thread. Let's see how long this one will last.

That sounds like a really excellent itinerary. Antigua & St. Lucia was our honeymoon spot, 6 days each, 30 years ago this month. Also this month, 1 year since the passing of DW. Oddly, both simultaneously seem so distant time-wise and yet so recent. Do you have any excursions planned for either island?

Lazy cat afternoon here as well.

Fortunately, Leonard seldom barfs on the rug but I don't understand his fascination of joining whomever happens to be in the bathroom.

But it's okay if we poke gentle fun at Hallmark Christmas movies? My sister and sis-in-law love those movies. In fact, I'm pretty sure SIL never changes the channel all of Nov & Dec and has it on constantly as background noise. Of course, being the jerk-face than I am, I'll point out that they are not real Christmas movies but love stories that just happen to have a Christmas tree in the background. To be a REAL Christmas movie you need Santa or Jesus or Elf's or an angel. Or at least a talking snowman or flying reindeer. Although I do have to say the houses are beautifully decorated as are the downtowns. I always marvel that the cars are showroom shiny despite the snowy road conditons & people clothing never get dirty or wet, not a hair out of place despite the long walks thru the slushy snowstorms. Now that is some Christmas magic right there! I might have come full circle in my thinking. 😅