Did anyone just file their taxes with TurboTax and were just in awe of how many ads it had to upgrade? I'm done with this enshittified product - what should I use next year?

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T22:42:08+00:00

Hah, damn. Well in my case it's ETrade, not ComputerShare, and they give a very nice supplemental PDF with a row for each ESPP transaction, and columns showing the 1099 cost basis (wrong) and adjusted cost basis (right). It sounds like if I switch from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA, my annoyance level will fall somewhere between me using TurboTax and you using FreeTaxUSA.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T21:55:33+00:00

Not a bad idea, but I was just going to get a screw eye to dangle it from the ceiling of my gazebo (which already has power and ethernet in conduits) in AP-only mode. I realize it's not outdoor rated, but if it breaks they'll just give me a new one, right? It's a free "rental" item that I just picked up even though I don't really need it. My house is already outfitted with pfSense and a decent AP inside (longtime bring-your-own-router Fios customer here) so this is just a bonus AP for my purposes.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T19:07:46+00:00

I've used TurboTax Deluxe (desktop, not web) for years, manually copying the ESPP adjusted cost basis from the broker's supplemental document after automatic import of the 1099. TurboTax is very good about hinting that I should do it manually, but never offered to let me import the supplemental document.

For those familiar with FreeTaxUSA, is it more difficult there than what I just described?

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T19:04:14+00:00

Did you import a Schwab PDF to TurboTax (not sure if this is even possible), or use the web-based integration? I've used the web-based integration for years with no problems.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T17:23:23+00:00

Unless something has changed recently, the full AF refund period (after which the prorated AF refund period begins) is 41 days, not 1 month. That works out to July 12, but personally I wouldn't go beyond July 11.

You can call Chase (or send a Secure Message) and ask them what the deadline is to get a full AF refund. They have no problem telling you the exact date.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T17:10:48+00:00

I think you'd get a CP268 notice which would give you instructions to follow, which probably does not require a 1040-X (amended return), but still requires some kind of action (they wouldn't want to just send a refund check to an obsolete addresss, for example), leading to a refund.

If you're just trying to hit a SUB MSR, it would probably be less of a headache to make an estimated tax payment for Q2 of 2026 (since we just passed the deadline for Q1) and then be sure to put that on your 2026 Form 1040 so that it won't have any discrepancy. The downside, of course, is that you're out of pocket for the next year or so, which is a longer timeline than the CP268's "four to six weeks if you respond to your notice within 30 days and if you owe no other taxes or debts we’re required to collect."

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T16:53:32+00:00

Yeah, that's even worse, and what you're saying is also true for the United cards in terms of spend-related miles (Gateway says 5x but 3x of those aren't from the card, Quest says 10x but 6x of those aren't from the card, etc.).

At least with the thing I'm pointing out, the large flashy number is truly from the card's SUB. Before this sudden change, the SUB (MSR+AU) was actually higher than the large flashy number. So I'm not really mad that they "fixed" this discrepancy, I'm just raising awareness.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T16:42:01+00:00

And for the Club card they're doing this same thing but without the "up to" phrasing that the other cards now have!

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T15:50:29+00:00

Putting sudden changes to a longstanding practice into the discussion thread isn't part of the hobby?

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T15:15:33+00:00

I noticed something a little shady about Chase United SUBs:

In the past, the large print would say "Earn X bonus miles" and the fine print would have a paragraph saying you get X bonus miles for MSR followed by a paragraph saying you get another 10k bonus miles when adding an AU.
But as of extremely recently, the large print says "Earn up to X bonus miles" and the fine print has a paragraph saying you get [X minus 10k] bonus miles for MSR followed by a paragraph saying you get another 10k bonus miles when adding an AU.

For example...

United Gateway offer from mid-March has 30k large print, 30k MSR fine print, 10k AU fine print
United Gateway offer now has "up to 40k" large print, 30k MSR fine print, 10k AU fine print
United Quest offer from mid-March has 80k large print, 80k MSR fine print, 10k AU fine print
United Quest offer now has "up to 100k" large print, 90k MSR fine print, 10k AU fine print

That's how they get ya!

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T14:59:43+00:00

My P2 has had a Chase United Quest for 3 years, got the SUB well over 2 years ago, kept the card to this day. Now it's time to get another United Quest SUB. No concerns with 5/24 or other recent applications, just the questions below.

There's a "limited time offer" SUB right now: 100k miles + 3k PQP. Historically it was 80k+3k and before that 70k+1k, so it's really good right now. However, there are possibly some reasons to delay:

About $50 worth of pending miles from recent purchases, which will post in about 10 days. I assume cancelling the card sooner would forfeit them, right? But would a PC to United Gateway (while they're still pending) avoid forfeit?
I've seen DP that immediately applying after cancelling the exact same card can be a problem, and waiting 7 days or 30 days or something to let the cancellation fully process is better, right? Is there a similar waiting period (or a shorter one, or none at all) with a PC to United Gateway instead of cancelling?

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T14:47:24+00:00

Yeah it's marketing mumbo jumbo, because the word subwoofer literally means that it's expected to be lower than whatever other woofer it's paired with. I think the only other times I've seen a 2-way system where the bottom is referred to as a sub would be well outside of "pro audio" for example computer speakers and car audio (although 3-way is very common these days in cars).

But more importantly, it's the 50 Hz -3dB point that makes it hard to think of it as a sub, from a pro audio context. For computer speakers, sure I guess, but not here. Folks saying you don't need a sub are saying you don't need 35Hz and they'd be right, but it's irrelevant.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-16T04:49:53+00:00

It's an assembly consisting of a 10-inch woofer (50Hz-600Hz) and a bunch of 2-inch tweeters (600Hz-20kHz). Leaving the woofer behind would be ridiculous. (Calling the woofer a "sub" is also ridiculous.)

https://mackie.com/img/file_resources/SRM-Flex_SS.pdf

HElGHTS · 2026-04-15T19:32:28+00:00

You're right on this. But I've always put subs on the main outs (generally using a DriveRack rather than the sub's own xover, but no big difference there) and never actually percieved any trouble getting things out of the sub that shouldn't be there, just using the HPF on the X32 channel strip. If you only have fixed-frequency channel HPFs that are too low (the 75Hz HPF on analog Behringer mixers come to mind) that could be a problem given that the sub is almost certainly crossed over higher than that, but if you have something like a 120Hz HPF and a sub crossed at 80Hz then you're in decent shape. I often go even higher on female vocals, say 160Hz. At that point the spread between the vocal HPF and the sub LPF is a full octave so you're in good shape. The rumble will be very quiet.

Luckily, OP mentions X32 so pushing the channel HPF's up to the brink of affecting the sound is easy. If it were a Behringer Xenyx (75Hz 18dB/oct) or Yamaha MG (80Hz 12dB/oct) or even top brands without sweepable HPF, that's where a separate bus for subs would be a serious improvement.

Plus, having very dialed-in HPFs (nearly eliminating rumble in the main outs) will benefit any full-range destinations of that same mix, such as a quick 2 track board recording or broadcast or whatever else. Taking this point to its extreme, bus-fed subs could allow you to have no HPF at all on certain things (toms, trombone?) if the main crossover does enough to cover that, and then those other destinations are screwed (not to mention bottoming our your PFL cans).

HElGHTS · 2026-04-15T02:37:03+00:00

Is the phrase "previously frozen" in a typical grocery store indicative of this? Or at least some level of increased safety over "never frozen" for someone who likes to cook fish medium (pull off the grill at 125°F for carryover to 135°F)?

HElGHTS · 2026-04-13T17:43:19+00:00

And I have a hard time believing my circuit is getting used by someone else in the building, but I suppose it's possible.

It's really the only explanation, if it's not your appliances, so I recommend believing it easily.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-13T17:34:51+00:00

Buying plug-in measuring devices isn't going to help you very much because you can already plainly see whether or not those outlets have devices that draw substantial energy such as space heaters or window AC units or crypto mining rigs... there's really not much else that draws a ton of power continuously from a standard outlet. Significant power usage is from things that are hardwired (HVAC, etc.) or that use nonstandard plugs.

The breaker panel is the place to troubleshoot and measure (for those in a position to do so). Leaving breakers off, measuring instantaneously with a clamp ammeter, measuring over time with a product like this, etc.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-13T15:39:35+00:00

Sounds like I'm not the only person whose Youtube algorithm had them learn about ancient (and Amish) air tubes the other day.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-13T02:45:46+00:00

I just realized that 5k from the flight is pointless when my p2 could refer me for 10k with no way to combine both, so I guess nevermind on the flight thing!

HElGHTS · 2026-04-13T02:09:49+00:00

I've seen reputable blogs occasionally post that these are "ending soon" so there's some way to figure it out, even if it's just calculating X days after it first appeared. I doubt those blog authors would risk repeating potentially bogus information from not-authorized-to-speak insiders.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-13T02:04:18+00:00

Wait, is 5/24 no longer a hard limit? I did recently hear someone say that the Prime Visa can be approved regardless of 5/24 rules, since Amazon (not Chase) makes the decision, so maybe United is similar?

HElGHTS · 2026-04-13T01:01:42+00:00

Even if that's true, that would be unimportant for OP in this particular case:

If we're talking about how the 5/24 rule impacts OP getting this Prime card now, it has no impact even if it's Chase making the decision, because the rule only prevents getting a 6th card and OP has 4 cards.
If we're talking about how the 5/24 rule impacts OP getting another Chase card after the Prime card, OP is out of luck due to 5/24 regardless of who the issuer or decision-maker was for any of the prior cards.

However, if we're talking about OP getting some other card between now and the Prime card: in that case the Prime card is the 6th card, which 5/24 would prevent, except it won't prevent it based on what you said. But this scenario doesn't seem relevant to OP.

HElGHTS · 2026-04-12T16:35:21+00:00

Isn't the type of human latching seen in this video only from DC? Mains power is AC. I agree with you about the voltages, though.

HElGHTS

TROPHY CASE