Koozie Notes

Dilbert & Linux

If you enjoy Scott Adams's Dilbert comic strip, then you will probably get a good laugh from his strip posted on the 25th.

-Chris

Non-IT Readling List for Developers

Earlier today, I read a piece by Esther Schindler covering a few non-IT books she recommended for coders.  Below is her list.

1. "How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built" by Stewart Brand
2. "Shockwave Rider" by John Brunner
3. "True Names" by Vernor Vinge
4. "Bellwether" by Connie Willis
5. "The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully" by Gerald M. Weinberg
6. "Neuromancer" by William Gibson
7. "Burning Chrome" by William GIbson
8. "The Adolescene of P-1" by T.J. Ryan
9. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein
10. "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson
11. "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson
12. "Godel, Escher, Bach" vy Douglas R. Hofstadter
13. "A Whack on the Side of the Head" by Roger von Oech
14. "The Incomplete Enchanter" by L. Sprague DeCamp
15. "Don't Forget Your Spacesuit, Dear" edited by Jody Lynn Nye
16. "Virtual Leadership" by Jaclyn Kostner
17. "Making Time Work for You" by Harold Taylor

I would also like to add a few more books that I've enjoyed reading.

1. "Getting Things Done" by David Allen
2. "Jim Cramer's Real Money" by James Cramer
3. "Ready for Anything" by David Allen
4. "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
5. "Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

-Chris

1099 Printing and Filing

Now that the holiday season has past, I get to prepare myself, as do millions of other US businesses, for the annual printing, mailing and filing of 1099 tax forms.  In prior years, I used a few perl scripts to generate my "Copy B" 1099s prior to the January 31st deadline.  If you are new to 1099s, wikipedia has a descent overview on the subject.

We used to mail "Copy A" 1099s to the IRS, but for the last three years I've been filing them electronically with the IRS's FIRE system.  I prefer their electronic method of processing over the paper one, even on cases when I'm under the mandatory 250 form mark.  One of the best benefits for filing electronically with the IRS is that the deadline for filling is extended a full month (last day of March) instead of the last day of February.  Everything you ever wanted to know about filing 1099 electronically with the IRS can be gleaned from Publication 1220.

This year I discovered that the IRS rolled out a new application called "TIN Matching" under their e-services menu, which allows one to verify taxpayer names to their corresponding taxpayer identification number "TIN".  I'm hoping that by using this service, we will be able to cut down on exceptions.

-Chris

Prepare for Daylight Savings Time Changes

One of the newsletter I read this morning contained a link to a Microsoft product support page.  This web page listed all the Micorsoft products that might be affected by the changes in "Daylight Savings Time" that will go into effect this year.

In August of 2005 the United States Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, which changes the dates of both the start and end of daylight saving time (DST). When this law goes into effect in 2007, DST will start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November) than what had traditionally occurred.

- Chris