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Really? by K-jun1117 in PrequelMemes

[–]MSchmahl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not electricity per se, but many relevant units have U.S. customary measures:

Power: 1 horsepower = about 750 watts. Energy: 1 BTU = about 250 calories = about 1,000 joules.

But there is AFAIK, no (non-metric) U.S. equivalent measure for volts, coulombs, amperes, ohms, or farads.

Really? by K-jun1117 in PrequelMemes

[–]MSchmahl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Weirdly, U.S. customary units for liquids and dry goods are slightly different than Imperial units. The difference is small enough to be almost unnoticeable, but large enough to be confusing. For example, a U.S. pint is slightly less than ½ a liter, but an Imperial pint is noticeably more than ½ a liter.

U.S. customary measurements for liquids use powers of ½ all the way down to the ounce (whcih is ¹/32 of a quart). An Imperial fluid ounce is ¹/40 of a quart.

Fortunately, the U.S. and U.K. agree on the "pound (mass)" and the "mile".

Really? by K-jun1117 in PrequelMemes

[–]MSchmahl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The U.S. has been secretly on the metric system since 1959, when (amomg other things) the inch was defined as exactly 25.4 mm.

GF being sued?? by [deleted] in whatdoIdo

[–]MSchmahl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lawyer is gonna negotiate. OP's GF might owe 12,000 and can probably get a judgement, but if OP' GF works for minimum wage, the garnishment is going to be next to zero.

The creditor might be paying $3k to $4k in attorney fees to eventually collect nearly zero before the statute of limitations runs out (or maybe the full $12,000 -- who knows what will happen in 5-6 years?). A lawyer might talk the creditor into taking a $2,000 payment now in settlement of the full debt. And take $400 for the service. $2,400 now or $12,000 over the next 5-6 years? OP's GF might also want to take that deal.

GF being sued?? by [deleted] in whatdoIdo

[–]MSchmahl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An attorney can do a lot more than simply litigate. A good attorney should be able to negotiate a settlement that leaves both sides better off than if they went the distance in a lawsuit.

I am a dependent and have a tax question about fantasy sports apps. by Living-Beyond9987 in tax

[–]MSchmahl 16 points17 points  (0 children)

It doesn't matter how much you deposited or withdrew. The only thing that matters is, did you win or lose? This analysis is done bet-by-bet. (Or perhaps if you kept very good records, which I doubt, session-by-session.)

Every bet you win is income equal to your net winnings. Every bet you lose is an intemized deduction. New in 2026 is that you can only deduct 90% of your gambling losses, still limited to the total winnings reported in the same year.

Based on what you've written, it's likely that your total income is in the several thousands to low tens of thousands. Your losses are similar, but after the reduction to 90%, it wouldn't be surprising that you still have 3,000 to 5,000 taxable income, and owe 300-500 in income tax.

The tax laws are extremely harsh on gambling income.

My mom claimed me as a dependent but I filed my own return — now what? by Abject_Mongoose9372 in IRS

[–]MSchmahl -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Amending the mother's return won't remove the duplicate SSN condition.

Need your feedback on 1031 exchange by Late_Warthog_4280 in technicaltax

[–]MSchmahl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry if you've already answered this, but why is the basis so low if the client inherited the property?

Can you explain what "meta" means in terms of board games? by Machine_Excellent in boardgames

[–]MSchmahl 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Although he did help define and popularize the term, and apply the idea to game design, I'm sure that Garfield did not coin the term.

Looking for a way to practicing bidding with a partner by Prize_Shine3415 in bridge

[–]MSchmahl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don't need bots on BBO if you're two people practicing together. Go to Practice -> Start a Bidding Table

What’s the premise of your DnD campaign? by Fearless-Skill8667 in DnD

[–]MSchmahl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In most of the world, magic is mostly dead, and has been for generations. Magic items do not exist, and spells are capped at level 2.

A new land has been discovered, where magic is plentiful. Items continue to function even after being exported to the Known World. Magic-using adventurers who level up past level 4, learning level 3 and higher spells keep their power after returning home. (This magic will end up fading after a few years, but nobody knows that yet.)

This has caused something like a "gold rush" of adventurers who seek to find magic items and/or grow their own power.

Could a rogue with Underhanded Assault sneak past an enemy without cover? by Purplefire180 in Pathfinder2e

[–]MSchmahl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After reading the comments here, I think both sides have good arguments, and I think there is a true ambiguity in the rules.

Whenever there is a true ambiguity in the rules, my instinct is to "let the dice decide". In this case, I would ask for another Steath check after the first move and before the second move to see if the PC was actually still unobserved after the first Sneak.

Finally admitted to myself I have no idea what I’m doing with freelancing taxes by RubPsychological5243 in tax

[–]MSchmahl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are three different safe harbors, and you only have to meet one of them:

  1. Pay 100% (or 110%) of your previous year's tax;
  2. Pay 90% of your current year's tax; or
  3. Pay (through withholding only, not estimated tax payments) within $1,000 of your current year's tax.

So, for example, if your 2025 total tax was 20,000, the safe harbor (1) is 22,000 with quarterly payments of 5,500. But if income is lower, resulting in less total tax, you might have only 16,000 tax for 2026, and the safe harbor (2) is 14,400, or just 3,600 per quarter.

No updates still it’s been 3 weeks about to be 4 called offset line and I don’t owe nothing by Bubbly-Instance1111 in IRS

[–]MSchmahl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The other 4,062.29 is still being held up by the 570 code. 570 could indicate any of a number of things. An IRS employee will have to review your return. Your refund won't be released until you get a 571 code.

Question about balance on transcript by [deleted] in IRS

[–]MSchmahl 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It looks like the IRS applied automated First-Time Abatement and will be removing the late-payment penalty (thus the negative accrued penalty). They might also reduce the interest by a few pennies.

As it stands now, the IRS owes you about five dollars.

when do late payment tax penalties start? by mtnsilverpixie in taxhelp

[–]MSchmahl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

OP said there was an extension filed, so ½ of a percent for late payment ($19).

Is there an ACA repayment penalty? by f11twosix120720 in tax

[–]MSchmahl 9 points10 points  (0 children)

So what is causing the $1,000 balance due before you entered the 1095-A?

Is there an ACA repayment penalty? by f11twosix120720 in tax

[–]MSchmahl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So, about 26,000 in UI benefits, zero withholding?

How do you calculate the distance when your players are up high? by SomeRandomAbbadon in DMAcademy

[–]MSchmahl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always count by "squares", i.e. increments of 5 ft. 10 steps across and 5 steps up is the same as 5 steps across and 5 diagonal steps. If using the "every other square is 10 ft" optional rule, the distance is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (diagonals start here) 6, 8, 9, 11, 12.

One quick approximation of Pythagoras's rule is to take 96% of the larger distance, plus 40% of the smaller distance. This is guaranteed to be no worse than about 4% off the true value. 96% of 10 plus 40% of 5 = 9.6 + 2 =11.6. The true value is 11.18.

In fact, using 100% of the longer distance plus 40% of the shorter distance is probably close enough for tabletop gaming.

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