It's Geektime

IRS's Confusing New Ad Campaign Wednesday, 21 December 2011 13:41 Written by D W Hawthorne

With Tax season coming on hand the IRS has introduced a huge ad campaign making the public aware of the EITC the Earned Income Tax Credit.  The ads boast that if you make "less than $49,000 a year" you "could be owed a $5000 refund."  While this is technically true it is also grossly misleading.

The commercial does not indicate that in order to get a credit of around $5000 you need to have two or more children as dependents ($5,666 for 3 or more kids, $5036 with just two) and the maximum salary value to qualify is $48,362 for a combined salary of a married couple.

The commercial never indicates that in order to benefit from the numbers mentioned in the commercial you need to have three or more children or that you need to be married.

While the IRS attempts to do its best to get people to know about the credit the fact is the vast majority of people simply aren't able to benefit from it and it is very misguiding about whether or not it is possible for you to qualify.  If you're curious about whether or not you qualify you can check here: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/money-guides/earned-income-tax-credit-could-pay-off-1.aspx

That guide is a simple and accurate summation of the credit that is far easier and quicker to understand than working your way through the IRS's website.

D W Publishes his first Kindle Book! Sunday, 18 December 2011 22:09 Written by Allan Libby

Our very own D W has published his book as a Kindle download!  Go check it out from the links below for the Kindle version or the paperback version.

Doctor Who Actress Passes Away Tuesday, 26 April 2011 06:30 Written by D W Hawthorne

For most New Series Doctor Who fans ("Whovians" for the ultra-dedicated) there is a rough familiarity with the Classic Series characters that have been revisited.  Many will remember the Series (Season) 2 appearance of Sarah Jane (played by actress Elisabeth Sladen).  It was a notable episode not just for nostalgia, but because it was also a cross-over with the British series The Sarah Jane Adventures.  She also appeared at the end of Series (Season) 4 in a larger crossover that also included Torchwood (an anagram of Doctor Who by the way).

Elisabeth Sladen herself was a fan favorite when she became the Doctor's companion in 1973-1976, and her contribution to changed (seemingly forever) the Doctor/Companion relationship.  It was because of her that the Companion role started to shift to a subtle romantic chemistry that was never fulfilled.  This is something that Billie Piper and Freema Agyeman both later brought to the show as companions (and to a lesser degree the current companion Karen Gillan).  How often are classic characters from rebooted series given their own modern spinoff because of fan interest, rather than a character being introduced with the intention of getting a spin-off? 

The Doctor's Appeal to women has become something of a running gag in the series now and has helped drive more than a few episodes and all of this traces back to Sladen and her contribution, evolving the role of the Doctor/Companion relationship from a grandfatherly mentor relationship to partner and cohort relationship with the threat of romance.  Sladen managed to have even more chemistry with the audience than she did with the Doctor and because of this left an indelible mark on a venerable franchise.