Late Nite with Jimmy Fallon features the Palm Pre

Posted By on March 10, 2009

Palm Pre gets a unique appearance on NBC’s  Late Nite with Jimmy Fallon as Joshua Topolsky from Engadget brought one along in his pocket — he must rate pretty high in the tech world to have had that priveledge! The Pre has made only a handful of appearances since the introduction, so is sort of a big deal for gadget fans and Palm PDA/Smartphone advocates. I thought the “geek riot” comment was pretty funny.

Enjoyed meeting with the EAA284.org guys on Sunday

Posted By on March 9, 2009

Small and informal (as usual) EAA284.org gathering on Sunday afternoon and continued to discuss a couple rib stitching  and wing/fuselage covering options. Stewart Systems less toxic EkoBond were looked at (PDF Manual) and we entertained thoughts on possibly creating a How-To video for making stitching needles from welding rods. Although I’m building an aluminum aircraft, learning about rib stitching is enjoyable. (I’m going to have to work on my knot-tying, although I’m sure I’ll find myself dreaming about sailing?)
😀


I also appreciated the information one member brought in as to “incident” vs. “accident” reporting and how it might be wise not to call 911 for non-lifethreatening situations. He shared a horror story of airplane butchery by emergency responders when they cut open a flipped plane rather than lifting the tail. Educating the fire department near a local airfield could be an excellent community outreach project for EAA chapters?

Another subject that came up is continuing our pursuit of non-profit tax exemption and this years filing of our IRS 990N paperwork — postcard. I’m starting here for both the EAA284.org and CinciTDI.com groups. I’m all ears if there are experts willing to offer their advice in keeping things simple.

Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations — Form 990-N (e-Postcard)

Small tax-exempt organizations whose annual gross receipts are normally $25,000 or less may be required to electronically submit Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard, unless they choose to file a complete Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 added this filing requirement to ensure that the IRS and potential donors have current information about your organization.

Due Date of the e-Postcard

The first e-Postcards are due in 2008 for tax years ending on or after December 31, 2007. The e-Postcard is due every year by the 15th day of the 5th month after the close of your tax year. For example, if your tax year ended on December 31, 2007, the e-Postcard is due May 15, 2008. You cannot file the e-Postcard until after your tax year ends.

How To File

Click here to file the e-Postcard. If you have trouble accessing the system using that link, you may be able to access the filing site directly by typing or pasting the following address into your Internet browser: http://epostcard.form990.org. When you access the system, you will leave the IRS site and file the e-Postcard with the IRS through our trusted partner, Urban Institute. The form must be completed and filed electronically. There is no paper form.

Information You Will Need To File the e-Postcard

The e-Postcard is easy to complete. All you need is the following information about your organization. Click on any of the links below, if you need more information about the item.

Who Must File

Most small tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts that are normally $25,000 or less must file the e-Postcard. Exceptions to this requirement include:

  • Organizations that are included in a group return, and
  • Churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches.

The following organizations cannot file the e-Postcard but must file different forms instead:

Late Filing or Failure To File the e-Postcard

If you do not file your e-Postcard on time, the IRS will send you a reminder notice but you will not be assessed a penalty for late filing the e-Postcard. However, an organization that fails to file required e-Postcards (or information returns – Forms 990 or 990-EZ) for three consecutive years will automatically lose its tax-exempt status. The revocation of the organization’s tax-exempt status will not take place until the filing due date of the third year.

Search for e-Postcards – Public Disclosure

To find and view an organization’s e-Postcard click here. To download the entire data base of e-Postcard filings click here.

Note: Not all organizations that file an e-Postcard are eligible to receive charitable contributions that are tax-deductible under Internal Revenue Code section 170. See Search for Charities, to determine whether contributions to a particular organization are tax-deductible.

Additional Information

  • Temporary Regulations (November 15, 2007)
  • Educational tools : Help spread the word – Help small tax-exempt organizations stay exempt!
  • EO Update : Subscribe to Exempt Organization’s regular email newsletter that highlights new information posted on the Charities and Non-Profits pages of IRS.gov.
  • Account, tax law, or questions about filing the e-Postcard should be directed to Customer Account Services at 1-877-829-5500.  Questions about use of the e-Postcard filing system can also be emailed to tege-eo-efile@irs.gov .  Because of the volume of questions received, we may not be able to answer each question individually.  We will update our web page as needed to address frequently asked questions.
    Note: This email address is for exempt organization e-Postcard filing system related questions only.  Do not send forms of any kind to this email address.
  • News release IR 2008-71 (May 13, 2008) (due date reminder)
  • News release IR-2008-25 (February 25, 2008) (announcing launch of e-Postcard electronic filing system)

Page Last Reviewed or Updated: February 04, 2009

Heaven bound: Lois R. Sevrence left for Home

Posted By on March 8, 2009

Lois R. SevrenceAlthough her life was full and death was peaceful, it is difficult for me to say an earthly goodbye to my wonderful Aunt Lois. She was my closest aunt (my mother’s only sister) and growing up we were always together with her and her family. My brother and I were practically best friends with her two children spending every holiday and special occasion together. Aunt Lois was always the one to remember a special occasion with a thoughtful card, a short note and often a few dollars … even to my kids.  She was a close and loving big sister to my mom and I know she will be deeply missed. (Toledo Blade Obituary)

I am grateful she passed away comfortably and offer my sympathy to her two children, my cousins Diane and Bob — and their families.

Lois R. Lois R. Sevrence, 85, of Toledo, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, Saturday, March 7, 2009 at the Hospice of Northwest Ohio, Perrysburg. Lois was born on July 27, 1923, to Richard and Ruth Bluhm, in Sandusky, Ohio. She was a 1941 Graduate of Libbey High School. Lois worked for Toledo Scale Company and also worked as a secretary for Bunting Brass and Bronze, where she met her husband, Robert. Robert preceded her in death in 1988. Lois was an active member of Bethel Lutheran Church. She enjoyed playing cards, bowling, fishing and her many travels to Panama City Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Her most favorite moments were those spent with her family and friends at holidays and special occasions. Lois is survived by her daughter, Diane (Bert) Mears; son, Bob Sevrence; grandchildren, Kari (Chris) Young, Corey Mears and Laney Rodgers; great-grand-son, Austin Young and sister, Jeanine (Bud) Corbett. Friends may call at the Walter Funeral Home, 4653 Glendale Ave. on Tuesday, March 10th from 2 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the funeral home on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow in Ottawa Hills Memorial Park. Memorials may be given to Hospice of Northwest Ohio or Bethel Lutheran Church, 1853 South Ave. Toledo, Ohio 43609. Lois’s family would like to thank the staff of Hospice of Northwest Ohio for their tender care and compassion. www.walterfuneralhome.com

***

QuickPress update: New Database server for my blog

Posted By on March 6, 2009

Since I haven’t been traveling this week, I’ve had a few minutes to do a full database backup and reinstall on a new server. One of the primary reason I’ve been anxious to do was because of some significant slowing in access. Thankfully the upgrade was painless and looks to have corrected my primary speed problems. If you read this online and notice the improvement, you now know why.

Topgear America’s project Sipster is coming along

Posted By on March 6, 2009

old rabbit diesel

TopGear.com American is working on their “triple 7”  — $7000, 70mpg, 0-60mpg in under 7 seconds. They have purchase a VW Rabbit diesel in New York and are transplanting a TDI engine in  Regina, Saskatchewan and have labeled the project the “Sipster.”

The current video shows the engine transplant (below) although the  project was announcmed in February. As a  VW diesel fan I’m anxious to see if this old a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel with a 2003 VW TDI engine will be able to succeed in their goal.

Topgear embedded video no longer supported

Portable, flexible but costly solar panel set-up

Posted By on March 5, 2009

Powerenz.com makes a very portable set of solar panels that looks to provide a great way to charge or power low wattage electrical devices while away from conventional power sources. The flexible panels can be easily toted in a bag or backpack and will provide up to 180 watts of power. They can also be linked together to provide up to 300 continuous watts, with the downside being the cost — $3000.

Create your own personal font in a few minutes

Posted By on March 4, 2009

YourFonts logo

YourFonts.com makes it easy to create a personalized font based on your own handwriting. I created one in about 15 minutes, including the scanning and uploading — very cool.

template

After printing out the PDF template , I used a fine tip ‘Sharpie‘ to scribble in the letters and numbers as the very easy instructions describe. I didn’t bother to do the ‘included’ second page, but those who need accented letters and special characters might want to take the time to do that.

I then scanned the form at 300dpi using the scanner on my multi-purpose fax machine and uploaded it to the YourFonts site. (make sure the scanned page is no less than 1000 px — lousy quality — or no more than 5000 px — better quality.) The next step is to  upload the scan, preview the font on their site and finally download the .TTF file to be placed in your font folder on your Mac or PC. It couldn’t be simpler.

Below is an image of a full page (8.5×11) word document using the font I created, click for the larger version.

Test of my font

It is easy to selecting your font in any program on your computers and is ideal for personalized letters and envelopes you type have a personal flare.  This might be a great way to address Christmas cards or to use for some special invitations, but one need to know that if you email a document, they will need to have your font ‘unless’ you embed a copy into the doc. (don’t use it for emails since the end user will most likely not have your personal font installed)

I’m looking forward to showing this to my daughter knowing she will love creating her own decorative fonts for free!

Ok, so it does get uglier: DJIA closes at 6726

Posted By on March 3, 2009

DJIA new 3/3/2009 lowI’ll keep this post short since my mood is the same; the markets tried to find a reason to bounce after loosing 299 point on the DJIA yesterday, but traders and investors would have none of it. The averages did cross yesterday’s ‘ugly’ close a couple time throughout trading on Tuesday, but in the end few were comfortable holding onto positions. Today’s loss was a little over a 1/2% seeing the DJIA down 37.27 to 6726.02 making it the lowest in 13 years.

I promise to post something positive tomorrow!

Financial markets test poll – testing twtpoll.com script

Posted By on March 3, 2009

Testing new Twitter polling tool by twtpoll.com. (thanks for the link @stoweboyd)

It doesn’t get much uglier than this: DJIA 6763

Posted By on March 2, 2009

DJIA slide
WSJ Online

Here’s a bright thought:  if, scratch that, when …  the economy rebounds, it most likely will rise quickly from the shocking lows we are currently seeing. The dark side is that this selloff doesn’t seem to be finding a bottom and there aren’t many confident traders ready buy stocks again.
marketsToday’s news from AIG that they lost $61.66 Billion in the last quarter not only put them in the history booksas the company with the largest quarterly loss ever, but also drove investors to sell their already pummled stocks. So much so as to drive the Dow Jones Industrial average well beneath the 7000 market to 6763 at the close of trading.

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog