One big thing done
Apr. 11th, 2012 05:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catsittingstillSo I've done the taxes. I thought that would take longer, but I cleaned up the office in 2 hours yesterday and had nothing left to do today but sort through the tax files, rack my brains over whether there was any form I needed that I didn't have, and go to the IRS website to start downloading forms.
And on the IRS front page it talked about freefile, and I thought about filing electronically last year but didn't because I ran out of time, and I figured this year I had time, so why not check out this freefile thing? And it turns out that we do qualify for free e-filing through various companies that let you fill out your taxes as online forms.
Then I started going through the forms, one by one, figuring I'd stop when I got to something I couldn't do. But I never got to anything I couldn't do. And since all the adding and stuff is done by the engine behind the form page, when I got to the end everything was calculated and ready to go. It seemed much quicker than working my way through the various worksheets like I had to do last year.
We're going to get a chunk of money back, but not all of it, so we're Federal Income Tax payers again. I hope this is good news for the feds :-)
In other news I got a great idea for a musical instrument box. A rolling box--like a rolling suitcase--to hold the octave mandolin cradled in bunches of foam with cutouts for the octave mando stand and music stand, and a box enclosure under the neck of the octave mando for strings and capos and such. Maybe if I can make the box sturdy enough, and cushiony enough and also not so big or heavy as to trigger extra airline charges (I think I could make it 38 x 16 x 8 inches--but that wouldn't count a handle or wheels), I can actually ship my octave mandolin by air that way.
I can test it by bashing it with a crowbar to see if it's tough enough and then putting a carton of eggs in a plastic bag and wedging it into the inside, then latching the box and tossing it down the stairs (I'll have to find some stairs nobody loves too much but I'm pretty sure I can do that) to see if it's cushion-y enough. If the crowbar can't get in and the eggs are unbroken I will call it good.
On the top side of the box I can put attachment points for the regular mandolin case, so I can put it on top instead of having to carry it in my other hand. And if I go with the large (oversized) version, I can have attachment points for the music satchel too. I was originally thinking of this as a way to schlep my musical instruments around a con; running around Marcon with two instruments and a bag full of music stand, instrument stands and music books was a bit of a trial. The backer-board I used last year worked, but was the wrong size, which made it awkward, and hurt my hand, so I'm still trying to come up with something good.
Alas, on the down side, I have discovered that my regular mandolin is technically not carry-on. Meaning if I take any stringed instrument on a plane I will have to count on checking at least one item. I could make the octave mandolin box big enough to take both but I'm pretty sure that will require increasing its size beyond 62 inches.
At some point I am going to have to work out what to do about that. At some point not too far from now, if "what to do" includes building another musical instrument box before February of next year.
And of course, I do still plan a regular case for the octave mandolin. Which I will get back to one of these days.
But tomorrow is going to be dealing with the health insurance sign-up (must be done by tomorrow afternoon) and making our IRA deposits, and getting info from some people to get to another person for a report he is writing. And only *then* can I get down to serious designing, darn it.
And on the IRS front page it talked about freefile, and I thought about filing electronically last year but didn't because I ran out of time, and I figured this year I had time, so why not check out this freefile thing? And it turns out that we do qualify for free e-filing through various companies that let you fill out your taxes as online forms.
Then I started going through the forms, one by one, figuring I'd stop when I got to something I couldn't do. But I never got to anything I couldn't do. And since all the adding and stuff is done by the engine behind the form page, when I got to the end everything was calculated and ready to go. It seemed much quicker than working my way through the various worksheets like I had to do last year.
We're going to get a chunk of money back, but not all of it, so we're Federal Income Tax payers again. I hope this is good news for the feds :-)
In other news I got a great idea for a musical instrument box. A rolling box--like a rolling suitcase--to hold the octave mandolin cradled in bunches of foam with cutouts for the octave mando stand and music stand, and a box enclosure under the neck of the octave mando for strings and capos and such. Maybe if I can make the box sturdy enough, and cushiony enough and also not so big or heavy as to trigger extra airline charges (I think I could make it 38 x 16 x 8 inches--but that wouldn't count a handle or wheels), I can actually ship my octave mandolin by air that way.
I can test it by bashing it with a crowbar to see if it's tough enough and then putting a carton of eggs in a plastic bag and wedging it into the inside, then latching the box and tossing it down the stairs (I'll have to find some stairs nobody loves too much but I'm pretty sure I can do that) to see if it's cushion-y enough. If the crowbar can't get in and the eggs are unbroken I will call it good.
On the top side of the box I can put attachment points for the regular mandolin case, so I can put it on top instead of having to carry it in my other hand. And if I go with the large (oversized) version, I can have attachment points for the music satchel too. I was originally thinking of this as a way to schlep my musical instruments around a con; running around Marcon with two instruments and a bag full of music stand, instrument stands and music books was a bit of a trial. The backer-board I used last year worked, but was the wrong size, which made it awkward, and hurt my hand, so I'm still trying to come up with something good.
Alas, on the down side, I have discovered that my regular mandolin is technically not carry-on. Meaning if I take any stringed instrument on a plane I will have to count on checking at least one item. I could make the octave mandolin box big enough to take both but I'm pretty sure that will require increasing its size beyond 62 inches.
At some point I am going to have to work out what to do about that. At some point not too far from now, if "what to do" includes building another musical instrument box before February of next year.
And of course, I do still plan a regular case for the octave mandolin. Which I will get back to one of these days.
But tomorrow is going to be dealing with the health insurance sign-up (must be done by tomorrow afternoon) and making our IRA deposits, and getting info from some people to get to another person for a report he is writing. And only *then* can I get down to serious designing, darn it.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-12 05:50 pm (UTC)Another thing to consider is putting the small mandolin into a gig bag or custom soft case that might be carry-on size.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-12 10:34 pm (UTC)And I'd be scared carrying it on a plane without rigid protection. I can too well imagine some tired passenger, bleary and hasty after twenty hours of travel, dropping his rigid suitcase on top of it, and then shoving vigorously, trying to get the bin closed.
I have a design for a box that meets airline checked baggage limits. However I can't fit both instruments in it. Even if I get creative and put one in upside down and head down, I still end up with only 2/3 of an inch of foam between the box sides and the instruments and between one instrument and the other. Even if I put them crosswise I can't get more clearance than that.
I don't have a computer program to model this but my intuition starts shifting nervously as I imagine the box being bashed and thumped and bumped with the instruments jiggling inside in the flexing foam. If I made the box oversized (but within limits of what they will carry) I could do it, but it's probably cheaper to check a second box.
Whereas the octave mandolin can have an inch and a half of foam between it and the box walls if it goes in the non-oversized box by itself. Plus I can fit the octave mandolin stand and music stand in separate compartments in the box. They won't have any padding, but they won't hurt the instrument rattling around in a separate compartment, and they're neither easily damaged nor particularly expensive.
And a smaller box would give more flexibility in terms of loading things into cars, and taking things to filk circles and such.
Weirdly enough I keep getting distracted by wonderful ideas on how to make the box more interesting. A latching mechanism using a central gear that drives two racks in opposite directions. Electrowire and LED decorations.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-12 11:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-12 11:29 pm (UTC)Does your mandolin fit the carry-on dimensions if you place it diagonally? That counts. :)
The decoration possibilities are endless. Brass steamer trunk fittings...
At one point I was thinking of lexan backed with black velvet.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-13 12:43 am (UTC)I have two interior compartments (one on each side of the neck) that will come up to the lid, and help brace it so it doesn't have to span as much distance.
My plan is to fill every inch (except the compartments) with foam and cut out a hollow for the instrument.
Brass fittings would be very nice--I have brass-look hinges and latches I was going to use on the cedar strip case for the octave mandolin. I'm also going to get a brass plate and have my name and address engraved on it.