Reflections - In a windshield

A little of Frederick skyline reflected in the windshield of truck 42.

Weekend Reflections is hosted by James of Newtown Area Photo.

Odd shots - Spraying in the rain

I have seen this sprayer in the field behind our house in the past. But it was ODD to see it during a heavy downpour

For more "Odd Shots" visit Katney's Kaboodle.

Reflections - New leaves

Odd Shots - Hawk on a birdbath

We don't see hawks often at home. And have never seen one stopping for a drink at our birdbath! But this one was there Thursday at dusk. For more "Odd Shots" visit Katney's Kaboodle.

Reflections - in a window

There are many reflections in this Ecclectibles window, including your blogger. The shot was taken during the First Saturday celebration in Frederick.

Tax returns . . .

are in the mail. We sent some money to the US Treasury and the State of Maryland will return some to us. But as I worked my way through the forms and listened to the news this past couple of weeks, some issues seemed worthy of a few comments and questions.

Last year I reached the age of "Required Minimum Distribution" according to the Internal Revenue Service. This means those funds invested in 401(k) retirement arrangements begin to be taxable. And the IRS requires us to take out a little less than 4% the first year and a slightly higher percentage each year thereafter. This means we have more income (good news) and higher taxes (okay news). But another consequence is that the amount of Social Security (government retirement plan) that is taxed goes up (the bad news). There are 18 different forms (plus one "other") of income, some taxable, some not, some taxable under certain circumstances. I believe that taxes are necessary to fund the services that support the population in general, but it seems that income should be in two categories: "taxable" or "not taxable".

Can anyone explain the Alternate Minimum Tax in plain English? I have a little of the income and deductions that invoke the AMT. In the past, I got to step 12 of the worksheet with a 0 or negative amount and that meant no AMT was due. For 2010 the instructions say go directly to Form 6251 that takes 54 steps to reach the same conclusion. The AMT is the most convoluted form I have encountered, mainly because no explanation of the overall purpose is given.

General Electric created news when it was reported the company was paying no Federal taxes for 2010. Turns out that the report was premature, though GE acknowledged that the company does work to keep its taxes low (don't we all?). My question is why is "profit" reported to the IRS different than "profit" reported to shareholders? Is not someone being cheated? Apparently not, the law and accounting principles allow it.

In my opinion, our Congressional leaders, both Republican and Democrat, have been derelict in their duties the past few years, but especially for the past 12 months. To not have a budget in place when the year is over half-gone is absurd. They need to get back to working together to govern, and leave the politicking to the party chairmen.

Happy filing day to all and remember you have an extra weekend this year to finish you taxes.

This is a photography blog, and I am not a writer, so its back to pictures next post.

Odd shots - Lightning

Ever try to focus in the dark on an object that is moving rapidly? Last Sunday night the sky gave us a light and sound show, so I decided to try a shot or two. I set my focus for out there a ways, set the exposure to 30 seconds and put the camera on the windowsill. The lightning was closer than I guessed and there were several flashes in the clouds in the distance.

For more "Odd Shots" visit Katney's Kaboodle.

Reflections - My camera and me

I found myself reflected in a mirror in this window last Saturday. You can see other shots of the marionettes on my Window Views.

Weekend Reflections is hosted by James of Newtown Area Photo.

Odd Shots - Behind the facade

On Saturday, I posted a shot of a building for the theme "closed". This odd shot shows why the building is closed.

For more "Odd Shots" visit Katney's Kaboodle.

Reflections - Lights at night

Two shots of the reflections of lights along Carroll Creek, taken from the top of the parking garage after the full moon rose on March 19.

Weekend Reflections is hosted by James of Newtown Area Photo.