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Quiet day!

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lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 8, 2023, 3:14:34 PM3/8/23
to
Very quiet here today??? We're not giving up and dying with usenet I
trust. Had to see my head doc today (he is the one who has made my
life tolerable with vestibular migraines) down at the Gladstone
Building.

Leaving there and coming up back here to Clayton Park in the afternoon
commute traffic, I KNOW I am glad I don't go to work anymore :(

HRM Resident

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Mar 8, 2023, 5:37:15 PM3/8/23
to
<lucr...@florence.it> wrote:
> Very quiet here today??? We're not giving up and dying with usenet I
> trust.

Nothing to talk about. I was out and got some cod fish, groceries,
and dumped off 3-4 old landline phones to a recycle
place.

I am a boring person. :-)

--
HRM Resident

James Warren

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Mar 9, 2023, 9:58:22 AM3/9/23
to
Wow! You lead a very exciting life compared to me! :)

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 9, 2023, 11:21:58 AM3/9/23
to
My life will be exciting shortly, have to leave home and go to Dal
Dental, think perhaps the time has come to find a dentist up here
again and avoid the Dal system. However, the price is very right at
Dal :)

HRM Resident

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Mar 9, 2023, 11:26:52 AM3/9/23
to
James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> Wow! You lead a very exciting life compared to me! :)
>
Yes, I am a socialite on steroids! I decided to do my income taxes
today. Did you hear the yelling and cursing from there? :-)

Turns out I don't have a T-slip . . . but I can download it from CRA
if I switch everything to electronic. Except I need to verify my account
with 2-factor authentication and I need to have them send me a secret
code by snail mail before I can set that up.

>37 steps deleted for brevity<

Hence the cursing and earthquake like rumbling across most of NS as
I took my tantrum. :-)

I guess it's time to give all my finiancial info to one of those
tax-return companies (plus whatever they charge to do it) and give up.

CRA and the banks have obstificated things to the point where even a
university grad with 40+ IT experience can't hardly figure it out! :-)

What do the people who worked in the service industry and who might
have Grade 11 or 12 do? Living on OAS so the can't afford H & R Block or
equivalent? Say "fuck it" and not file anything? What happens if you do
that? Jail? Big fine?

I used to be able to do this stuff in a couple of hours. Oh and the
CRA employees apparently took a strike vote and might walk out in April . . .

--
HRM Resident

HRM Resident

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Mar 9, 2023, 11:59:55 AM3/9/23
to
lucr...@florence.it writes:
>
> My life will be exciting shortly, have to leave home and go to Dal
> Dental, think perhaps the time has come to find a dentist up here
> again and avoid the Dal system. However, the price is very right at
> Dal :)

I had a bad experence with them in the 1980s. No need to go into
detail other than to say in 2003 I had to pay a real dentist over $4K to
fix it via a root canal and crown.

--
HRM Resident

James Warren

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Mar 9, 2023, 12:06:23 PM3/9/23
to
We have been set up electronically with CRA for over a decade. I just let
my wife file with Ufile. Life is simple. :)

James Warren

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Mar 9, 2023, 12:07:37 PM3/9/23
to
I worked in Dentistry Department for 5 years but I never let them
near my teeth. :)

HRM Resident

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Mar 9, 2023, 3:25:40 PM3/9/23
to
James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> I worked in Dentistry Department for 5 years but I never let them
> near my teeth. :)
>
Smart move, if we are talkimg about the same thing. The students
(last year, I suspect) did fillings and such on cheapskates like me at
1/4 or less the cost of a dentist, under the supervision of a professor
or the like. Seems to me it was around $15 for them to fill a tooth and
$50-60 for a real dentist . . . but you might be in the chair for 2-3
hours while they did it, for one thing.

After I came to my senses, I realized that dental students fit under
a bell curve, just like everyone else. And you might get one at the top,
middle or bottom. Is this the place?

--
HRM Resident

HRM Resident

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Mar 9, 2023, 3:33:01 PM3/9/23
to
James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:
>
> We have been set up electronically with CRA for over a decade. I just let
> my wife file with Ufile. Life is simple. :)
>
It is. I need to change from Turbo Tax to Ufile and ditch 50/50
electronic/paper. My wife is/was old school and wants paper slips and
such. I do as much of everything as I can (taxes and everything else)
online, electronic, no paperwork, etc. It's not 1963!

I believe you and I both make comprimses to keep maritial harmony,
be it taxes or in other things. :-)

--
HRM Resident

James Warren

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Mar 9, 2023, 4:12:16 PM3/9/23
to
You pays your money and you takes your chances. :)

James Warren

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Mar 9, 2023, 4:12:50 PM3/9/23
to
Oh, so true. :)

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 9, 2023, 5:03:41 PM3/9/23
to
I have not had any problems with them but am going to change from
being a morning appt to an afternoon. I found today coming home in
the traffic was better than the other.

HRM Resident

unread,
Mar 10, 2023, 2:18:00 AM3/10/23
to
James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> You pays your money and you takes your chances. :)
>
Are we talking about the same thing? Cheap dental work by students?

--
HRM Resident

HRM Resident

unread,
Mar 10, 2023, 2:18:58 AM3/10/23
to
James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> Oh, so true. :)
>
It is difficult to convince them we are alway rught, isn't it? :-)

--
HRM Resident

James Warren

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Mar 10, 2023, 6:41:17 AM3/10/23
to
Yep.

James Warren

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Mar 10, 2023, 6:42:25 AM3/10/23
to
Exactly right! How could they doubt us?

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 10, 2023, 7:34:43 AM3/10/23
to
I'ver been well pleased with their work, and definitely with the
price.

HRM Resident

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Mar 10, 2023, 9:40:24 AM3/10/23
to
lucr...@florence.it writes:

>
> I have not had any problems with them but am going to change from
> being a morning appt to an afternoon. I found today coming home in
> the traffic was better than the other.

I'll try to make a Long story short: I was the sole breadwinner
for 5-6 dependants ~1985-2010. I had to go "cheap" wherever possible.
DDS made one big expense cheap. All good work except I got one student who
couldn't get the filling "hole" drilled out to suit her instructor and
had to keep going at it for 4 hours to make him happy.

Fast forward 20 years, and the filling had to be replaced. A real
dentist told me too much of the tooth was removed when the original filling
was put in, hence a root canal and crown at ~$4K. The DDS saved me a lot
of money when times were tough, but I ended up giving whatever I saved
to a real dentist later in life when I could afford it.

As JW said, "You pays your money and takes your chances." :-)

--
HRM Resident

HRM Resident

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Mar 10, 2023, 9:50:47 AM3/10/23
to
lucr...@florence.it writes:

>>
>>Exactly right! How could they doubt us?
>
> I've been well pleased with their work, and definitely with the
> price.
>
The topic has drifted. James and I were talking about compromises to
make our wives happy, not the quality of work at the DDS Basically we
have to say we are wrong many times when we know we are right to keep DW
happy! :-)

It's how nature works. Many men lie to their wives make them happy! :-)

But I agree with you in the wife context, "I've been well pleased
with their work, and definitely with the price." :-)

--
HRM Resident

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 10, 2023, 10:05:23 AM3/10/23
to
On Fri, 10 Mar 2023 10:50:36 -0400, HRM Resident <hrm...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Oh puke! No wonder women in the work force today complain not much
has changed :(

James Warren

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Mar 10, 2023, 10:11:53 AM3/10/23
to
Okay. I'm gonna lay low here. :)

HRM Resident

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Mar 10, 2023, 11:03:15 AM3/10/23
to
James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>> Oh puke! No wonder women in the work force today complain not much
>> has changed :(
>
> Okay. I'm gonna lay low here. :)
>
Oh no you don't! You and I BOTH agreed on the subject, so you have
to take a tongue-lashing with me. :-) Bow your head in obedience and say
,"I'm sorry, I was wrong," in a humble tone! :-) But hold one hand
behind your back with your fingers crossed!**

Although to clairify, LB, the context was marital harmony, not women
in the workforce, equal pay for equal work, etc. It was, at least in
the way I meant it, easier to say, "Yes dear, your way is best" around
the house than try to convince DW that my way was better. :-)

Meanwhile, I have to get out of the house and hide in an undesclosed
location. :-)

** holding one hand behind your back with your fingers crossed can be a
way to deceive or cheat. For example, a person might cross their fingers
while telling a lie to indicate that they are not being truthful.

--
HRM Resident

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 11, 2023, 9:30:31 AM3/11/23
to
On Fri, 10 Mar 2023 11:59:41 -0400, HRM Resident <hrm...@gmail.com>
wrote:
You must be finding it cold hidden out there, I was out just now to go
over to Sobeys, I found it horrible.

Donna Whitman

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Mar 12, 2023, 4:22:21 PM3/12/23
to
Had a friend who swore by them but he had great teeth and never needed anything but fillings. Went to his grave with all his pearly whites. I, OTOH, went to the same dentist for pver 40 years. Had a great problem finding a new one once he retired by so far so good.

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 12, 2023, 7:40:36 PM3/12/23
to
On Sun, 12 Mar 2023 13:22:19 -0700 (PDT), Donna Whitman
<nsboo...@gmail.com> wrote:
I used to go to a dentist over by Zen Cuisine but I caught her
charging me for something she had paid zilch for, told her what I
thought of that and never went back.

I rather enjoy meeting the students and hearing their stories etc and
following how they get on. However, the drive down and the traffic is
starting to get through to me and I figure soon I should consider
going back to a nearby dentist.

Donna Whitman

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Mar 14, 2023, 6:31:30 PM3/14/23
to
Mine is on Joseph Howe near the overpass. He was recommended by a friend and I'm quite pleased. He doesn't do any work that isn't necessary and doesn't overcharge. Been going to him for about 10 years now. He's relatively young so probabl;y won't have to worry about him retiring before I die

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 14, 2023, 7:28:09 PM3/14/23
to
On Tue, 14 Mar 2023 15:31:27 -0700 (PDT), Donna Whitman
<nsboo...@gmail.com> wrote:
Is he in the Dentist that is basically looking right at you when you
stop at the light waiting to turn left on Joe Howe towards the bridge?

Mike Spencer

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Mar 14, 2023, 11:41:00 PM3/14/23
to

My dentist retired early last year. he had a graduallly worsening
vision problem and knew he wouldn't make it to 65 or 70, was using
increasingly complicated (and expensive) miagnifier gear. I think
when the extra complications, liabilities and risks of being in
practice during COVID became clear, he just said, "Now's the time".

He was a technical wizard and an extraordinarily good guy.

When I started with him 25 years ago, he'd set up his practice in a
commercial space where friends had run a donut shop decades before. It
was weird to be in the chair right next to where I had once gotten
grease all over the place one midnight, disassembling their giant mixer
after a breakdown.


--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada

Donna Whitman

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Mar 25, 2023, 4:57:39 PM3/25/23
to
Yes, that's them . I see Dr. MacNeil but there's another dentist there who's also quite good. Had to see her once when Dr. MacNeil was out with a family situation.

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 25, 2023, 8:08:15 PM3/25/23
to
On Sat, 25 Mar 2023 13:57:37 -0700 (PDT), Donna Whitman
<nsboo...@gmail.com> wrote:
OK I'll remember them, good place to get to and good parking!

jvangurp

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Mar 29, 2023, 5:32:18 PM3/29/23
to
On Thursday, 9 March 2023 at 12:26:52 UTC-4, HRM Resident wrote:
> James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:
>
> >
> > Wow! You lead a very exciting life compared to me! :)
> >
> Yes, I am a socialite on steroids! I decided to do my income taxes
> today. Did you hear the yelling and cursing from there? :-)
>
> Turns out I don't have a T-slip . . . but I can download it from CRA
> if I switch everything to electronic. Except I need to verify my account
> with 2-factor authentication and I need to have them send me a secret
> code by snail mail before I can set that up.
>
> >37 steps deleted for brevity<
>
> Hence the cursing and earthquake like rumbling across most of NS as
> I took my tantrum. :-)
>
> I guess it's time to give all my finiancial info to one of those
> tax-return companies (plus whatever they charge to do it) and give up.
>
> CRA and the banks have obstificated things to the point where even a
> university grad with 40+ IT experience can't hardly figure it out! :-)
>
> What do the people who worked in the service industry and who might
> have Grade 11 or 12 do? Living on OAS so the can't afford H & R Block or
> equivalent? Say "fuck it" and not file anything? What happens if you do
> that? Jail? Big fine?
>
> I used to be able to do this stuff in a couple of hours. Oh and the
> CRA employees apparently took a strike vote and might walk out in April . . .
>
> --
> HRM Resident

I've often wondered how many people manage... I hate math and financial work and especially doing my taxes, but I can do it all when needed. I consider myself average intelligence, so if half the population is like me or worse with those subjects how on earth do they get their taxes done? I assume they go to tax preparation services.

I managed to set up my banking and CRA logins so that it all goes through with a very few clicks. I have access to all my wife's logins now and have changed the email and phone details to mine, as she's no longer capable of dealing with any of it.

I was reassessed this January and had to pay almost $3000 between DW and myself, and I have no clue what went wrong with last year's return. My brother in law is a chartered accountant so I'm dropping off a file folder with him tomorrow, yippee! I told him that when I get reassessed and billed I always just pay it without question, but he said it's always a good idea to review it as they make mistakes. He has challenged CRA more than once and won his cases too!

Cheers,
John

jvangurp

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Mar 29, 2023, 5:35:51 PM3/29/23
to
How lucky am I with dental health? I'm 62 years old and have never had a cavity or a filling. When the dentist checks my teeth once a year she always just kind of makes funny noises as she's looking and then ends with a chuckle at what a set of choppers I have. It's pure luck as never floss and simply brush twice a day. Just good oral chemistry. I do have a crown for a tooth broken off while attempting a straddle dismount from the rings in Grade 8.

Cheers,
John

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 29, 2023, 6:09:12 PM3/29/23
to
Here's hoping you win, be sure to let us know :)

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 29, 2023, 6:10:53 PM3/29/23
to
On Wed, 29 Mar 2023 14:35:49 -0700 (PDT), jvangurp
<jvan...@gmail.com> wrote:


>
>
>How lucky am I with dental health? I'm 62 years old and have never had a cavity or a filling. When the dentist checks my teeth once a year she always just kind of makes funny noises as she's looking and then ends with a chuckle at what a set of choppers I have. It's pure luck as never floss and simply brush twice a day. Just good oral chemistry. I do have a crown for a tooth broken off while attempting a straddle dismount from the rings in Grade 8.
>
>Cheers,
>John

Oh what a braggart, but deservedly so!

James Warren

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Mar 29, 2023, 8:09:19 PM3/29/23
to
I was reassessed for $368. I couldn't figure why. I just paid.
Today after filing two days ago they say I owed $200 after
paying my debt on filing. I paid by installments $200/month.
They seem to have lost my January payment. When the dust
settles maybe they will find my $200.

Does the CRA know what they're doing?

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 30, 2023, 6:45:22 AM3/30/23
to
'Do you think any government dept. does??????????

HRM Resident

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Mar 30, 2023, 8:45:27 AM3/30/23
to
lucr...@florence.it writes:

>>
>>Does the CRA know what they're doing?
>
> 'Do you think any government dept. does??????????

Some do, and some do not. All large organisations
are a cross-section of the population, with the good, the
bad and the ugly. The rub with government departments is
(a) they are subject to the whims of the political parties,
and (b) they usually are heavily unionized. Hence they
generally put the wants of the "Minister" above common sense.

I support unions, but I have seen them protect people
who should be fired.

--
HRM Resident

HRM Resident

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Mar 30, 2023, 8:57:41 AM3/30/23
to
James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:
>
>>
>> I was reassessed this January and had to pay almost $3000 between DW
>> and myself

>snip<

>> Cheers,
>> John

>
> I was reassessed for $368. I couldn't figure why. I just paid.
>

I think CRA (and every other organisation, government or private)
is understaffed these days. That could explain a lot of these "mistakes."

When do they "assess" a person? Both mine and my wife's were
assessed a week after we filed, and we got out measly refunds (less
than $100) already. However, I recall thinking this is just a computer
program doing a check for obvious errors. A few times I got a
"reassessment" in the fall either agreeing with the first one or making
some sort of adjustment. I guessed, rightly or wrongly, that the fall
one was done by a human. This not to be confused with a full
audit, the very mention of causes one's sphincter muscle to tighten up!
:-)

One time about 12-15 years ago I got one of the fast ones back that
said I owed them about $10K. I shit my pants, and then called them -
this when there was a person to talk to - and it turned out I'd put
something on the wrong line of the form. Phew!

--
HRM Resident
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