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That's a great idea, and it would work IF either Tinyletter or Typepad were already supported as channels in IFTTT. But -- alas -- neither is.
Things I have learned in a month of writing So What, Who Cares?
As I've alluded to before, email newsletters are my day job. I believe in email as an editorial format*. There are ways to do it well. I wanted to do some after-hours experimentation with the medium and the format, both for personal and professional gratification. And that's how I ended up launc...
Things I have learned in a month of writing So What, Who Cares?
Posted Sep 29, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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There's something about this paragraph ...
[Bill] Simmons grew so big that ESPN was willing to fund an entirely separate site -- Grantland -- as a way to make him happy and keep him tied to their larger brand. His quasi-departure from the company that had "made" him presaged other moves like it. Kara Swisher and... Continue reading
Posted Sep 25, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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Would you all like to be lab rats?
I don't talk much about my day job on my personal blog for many reasons, some of which may actually demonstrate mature good judgment. But one of the ongoing tasks I have is to assess email as an effective form of editorial content. I spend a lot of time thinking... Continue reading
Posted Aug 25, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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In defense of the explicitly awful (or why I'm glad I wasn't warned)
I read Luke Malone's well-researched, nuanced and thorough piece at Medium yesterday, You’re 16. You’re a Pedophile. You Don’t Want to Hurt Anyone. What Do You Do Now? The opening is raw, because it describes a specific, recorded act of abuse against a physically restrained 18-month-old child, detailing both the... Continue reading
Posted Aug 12, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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When you say it out loud, it sounds amazing
Posted Jun 20, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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Liberals do THIS and conservatives do THAT
Here are recent developments that all go together ... 1. Conservatives want big houses & liberals want walkable communities. A recent poll showed that, when given a choice between "The houses are smaller and closer to each other, but schools, stores and restaurants are within walking distance" vs. "The houses... Continue reading
Posted Jun 18, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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Let's all start the weekend by pondering the inexorable passage of time!
Posted Jun 6, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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When to nurse a grievance
Posted May 22, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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New York's Hottest Nightclub Is ...
Posted May 7, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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The recipes for all the lives I'm never going to lead
Posted May 6, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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Why "Whiny Modern Parents" might actually have cause to complain
Normally, I love the Motherlode, but today's post, "Hey, Whiny Modern Parents, Tell Us What You Love About the Gig," sent me on a bit of a rage bender. You can credit the good, old-fashioned cocktail of generational myopia and current affairs ignorance this commenter displays: I would be interested... Continue reading
Posted Apr 28, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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The great thing about having three kids this weekend? I don't have to keep two of them
Posted Apr 27, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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Scooping up the dust in the space of the selah
While it is alive Until Death touches it While it and I lap one Air Dwell in one Blood Under one Sacrament Show me Division can split or pare— Love is like Life—merely longer Love is like Death, during the Grave Love is the Fellow of the Resurrection Scooping up... Continue reading
Posted Apr 20, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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Basic bitches just can't win
I dragged myself into the pool on Friday morning, and while I was in there, I was thinking about two pieces I ran across this week: "The Basic Bitch: Who Is She?" and "How basic are you?" I was mostly thinking that the worst crime the so-called Basic Bitch commits... Continue reading
Posted Apr 19, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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Lurid fantasies about what a sick day might look like
I knew there might be trouble last week. As I boarded the plane, I noticed that the row in front of mine was occupied by a child wrapped in blankets, flushed yet shivering, and coughing up a storm. Next to her was a man who looked as if butter wouldn't... Continue reading
Posted Apr 17, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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In which Ralph Fiennes and I tell you how to read a book
Posted Apr 16, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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Here's what works for us: Right after we do our taxes, I pull out a manila envelope, label it for the year, then write a checklist on it: Property taxes; car registration fees; 1099s; W-2s; charitable receipts; mortgage interest; other account interest.
I also write the tax ID # of our child's preschool on the folder, as well as the school's name and address.
We keep the folder in the area where we also file bills, so we can drop papers in there on an as-needed basis.
Since we have a flexible spending account for childcare expenses, I keep a Google docs spreadsheet tracking paycheck deductions, tuition payments and program reimbursements. I also have a Google docs spreadsheet to track charitable donations, and it automatically tallies the amount for me. I have a third spreadsheet to log our telecom expenses, as they're deductible for us.
(Nota bene: I have automated my two primary charitable donations so it's just a matter of tagging the confirmation emails with the tax year in Gmail, and I can cross-reference those against the spreadsheet in ten minutes at tax time.)
Prepping for taxes took 10 minutes this year, mostly because the printer had to warm up before it could print out the three spreadsheets. I just put them in the folder where everything else had been filed as we received it, then headed to the accounant's.
April 16 is the best day to set up a tax organizing system! Let's talk.
No more April anxiety! Let's get our taxes organized NOW while the work is fresh in our minds. What's your best tip for organizing your tax paperwork? Please leave your tips + links in a comment here or share on Twitter (I'm @parenthacks) or Facebook.
Ut prosim -- that we may serve
Posted Apr 15, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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How you gonna get 'em back in the condo once they've been to the McMansion?
Posted Apr 14, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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A tale of two yard sales
Posted Apr 13, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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I go out walking after midnight
It was Phil's night to put the daughter to bed, and to expedite the process, I left the house and took a 55-minute long walk. I am basically the opposite of Patsy Cline in that I love taking long walks at night -- there's none of this weeping willow business... Continue reading
Posted Apr 12, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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Beans, beans, the magical fruit/ let us burn all the bean witches at the stake
Posted Apr 11, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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Ask not for whom the chicken clucks; she clucks for thee
Posted Apr 10, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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It's like your imagination has a head cold ...
Posted Apr 9, 2014 at Penny Wiseacre
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