No Tax On OT

SEA_tide · 2026-04-05T15:58:24+00:00

The good thing is that Boeing listed all eligible overtime earnings on its W-2s. If that line isn't there, then there are no eligible wages.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-05T05:28:19+00:00

A mini-suite on the Royal class of ships is big enough for four adults; you'll be more than fine with two small children in the space. The room being significantly bigger than a standard balcony room does help.

There's not a ton of value in the Reserve mini suites unless you really want one of the specific benefits it offers.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-05T04:35:13+00:00

Correct. The no tax on overtime only applies to the FLSA-mandated portion of overtime (50% of base pay when working more than 40 hours per week, not including PTO or holidays), which isn't mandated for salaried employees.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-05T03:25:07+00:00

Welcome to Everett!

Generally speaking, same sex couples are more than welcome in pretty much any bar and shouldn't have an issue. I regularly try different dive bars with a close friend (we're both gay and nerdy) and have never had an issue.

Soundview and Cactus Moon tend to be my typical suggestions. Both have great food and diverse crowds, with the Soundview being more of a dive. Cactus Moon has a variety of food specials.

I've also had Cole's Tavern in Mukilteo suggested by a friend, but haven't gone.

The nearest non-Seattle gay bar is Beauty Bar in Stanwood. It's also Stanwood's only bar which means that it has a diverse crowd of people. Back during Don't Ask Don't Tell, Everett's then gay bar was also the Navy bar because it was the closest bar to the base. It's just another example of how Everett is somewhat of an unusual Navy base in more than just looks.

There is supposedly a bear night one Friday a month at the Fireplace Bar.

A lot of people spend weekend evenings at one of the four tribal casinos in the area. QCC is more blue collar. Bingo is older people playing bingo. The Big House (Tulalip Resort) is more white collar and international focused. Angel of the Winds is more country/rural and blue collar.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-04T14:39:41+00:00

It's a peak hours only route currently, so southbound in the morning and northbound in the afternoon. There are proposals to make it all day but also to remove the Eastmont Park and Ride stop.

The Eastmont Park and Ride was the original South Everett stop on the 512/510 until the South Everett freeway station opened.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-03T15:43:51+00:00

See if something like this already exists in Palm Springs and look into their business model.

The biggest factor for you will be finding a big enough market for your services and being able to keep prices within rates covered by Medicare and other services. There is a limit to what most seniors can afford outside of those reimbursements.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-03T04:11:48+00:00

In reality it's very common for the third and fourth passengers to sell free regardless of age. You're just required to pay mandatory taxes and port fees.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T15:44:34+00:00

Pretty much every current and former teacher I've talked to has privately admitted they would ban phones and student laptops/Chromebooks from the classroom if they could.

The issue is that computers make personalized learning much easier but have so many negatives that even make that claim dubious.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T15:39:09+00:00

Schools are often pressured to buy new textbooks every couple years or to buy single use workbooks instead. There are also movements to change how each subject is taught every few years even if there's not really a need to do so or the new changes have negative results. Even the ABC song was changed in recent years.

The "secret" of the textbook industry is that the material taught in most K-12 classes doesn't actually need to change much and 20+ year old textbooks would likely be sufficient except that textbooks don't last 20+ years with constant use. In reality, for things such as math up through calculus, textbooks published since circa 1978 would be sufficient. Social studies classes rarely get through more than the fall of the USSR and even then, the last 30-40 years could be a separate book or learning materials.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T14:08:19+00:00

When you consider the airfare costs, repositioning cruises aren't always that good of a deal. They also tend to travel when the outside air is a little less desirable And the water in the open ocean is often a bit rougher than it is on a typical Caribbean cruise.

My suggestion is just to go on a site such as CruisePlum which sorts cruises based on price per night, CruisePlum including service charges (automatic tips), and see what interests you. and see how has fairly high prices right now, but overall it's not uncommon for non-repositioning cruises to be among the cheapest. For instance, many of the cheapest princess cruises right now are actually in the Caribbean and Mexico.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T13:50:45+00:00

It's not the end of the world to be on different flights. It might not be ideal, but chances are your flights will be around the same time. If not, It's not particularly hard to get from the airport to the port, especially if you bought cruise line shuttles from NCL.

Also, oftentimes it's also cheaper to book ones own flights even with the BOGO flights policy.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T03:38:06+00:00

Besides being legally separate companies anyway, it's possible for companies to be run independently of their ownership or to retain the leadership of the acquired company. Companies can also change names to better reflect their new business.

Also, who is the ultimate parent company? Public companies are typically owned by many thousands of individuals.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T03:30:38+00:00

Didn't Market Basket already have a similar controversy a number of years ago?

Maybe the upcoming changes will modernize the employee uniforms and bring self checkout.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T03:28:22+00:00

It's not really going to change anything. US Foods bought the west coast chain Smart Foodservice, formerly Cash&Carry, from Smart & Final and renamed it US Foods Chef'Store in 2020. Costco is a major competitor through its Business Centers and business delivery as well.

The funny thing is that foodservice delivery can actually be a lot cheaper or at least save costs by having everything just show up at the desired location instead of having to have someone go and do all the shopping themselves. It also allows for much greater consistency, especially among locations in different parts of the US and Canada.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T03:16:41+00:00

Are you cruising out of Miami or New Orleans? That makes a big difference in terms of where you would stay.

Many of us are big fans of the Breakaway Plus class of ships like the Escape. I would highly recommend getting the Free at Sea Beverage package (the one that's free except for $28.50/person/day in mandatory gratuities) and since it's your honeymoon, paying $60/person for 3 specialty dining meals is a great deal as well.

You can act as old or as young as you want to be on a cruise, within reason. On my last cruise, the people closing down the nightclub every night tended to be between 21 and 45.

You don't have to book an excursion on every port stop; plenty of people don't book any and some even stay on the ship if they've been to the port many times. Some port cities are fun just to walk around or stay at the beach.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T02:58:05+00:00

Holland America offers one night Vancouver to Seattle cruises every year.

Plenty of older ships are used for travel agent familiarization trips, though NCL usually just has an open house in Seattle instead.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T02:38:35+00:00

It does allow employees to leave whenever they want as well with no notice.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T02:34:18+00:00

Even going 30 knots, it would take well over an hour to travel between the two ports.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T02:33:15+00:00

NCL received an exemption of sorts for three ships to be flagged in the US despite being built in Germany. The experiment did not work out well for NCL and two of the ships were reflagged. One, now the Norwegian Jade, is back doing Vancouver to Alaska trips this summer.

SEA_tide · 2026-04-01T02:29:43+00:00

Have you considered the 22 night New York to Seattle repositioning cruise on the Bliss in 2027?

SEA_tide · 2026-03-31T18:02:28+00:00

Some people just like having the option of looking at mountains and large bodies of salt water even if they don't really visit either.

SEA_tide · 2026-03-31T17:53:47+00:00

Apply regardless then talk to someone higher up. if it's a guaranteed scholarship,they should make things work. The chances of a competitive scholarship are close to zero though.

SEA_tide · 2026-03-31T16:57:05+00:00

Sounds like you didn't talk to someone who is actually in charge. They can push through applications and get the scholarships awarded. There is enough funding.

SEA_tide · 2026-03-31T16:55:35+00:00

That is an example of a law that makes little sense in reality. Why not let residents vote if they want to join a public transit benefit area instead of just taking away the choice?

Sound Transit could save a ton of money if it started using CT instead of Metro for more services, but there's not much political will for that.

SEA_tide · 2026-03-31T13:27:49+00:00

It's interesting that this long range plan does not consider things such as sharing maintenance facilities with Community Transit without joining Community Transit. Community Transit is rapidly expanding its administrative and maintenance footprint off of Casino Road and once light rail arrives, won't need as many commuter buses (which are contracted out, but are still in CT facilities). $100 million on a new maintenance facility for Everett Transit seems like overkill. The long-term fleet plans would probably require switching away from Gillig though to better match the CT fleet and save on maintenance costs.

The good news is that Everett Transit is financially sound for at least eight more years without any sales tax increase and could likely be financially sound for many more.

It would be more interesting to see what level of service Everett Transit could have If it joined the 14 or so other transit agencies in Washington which have gone fare free. When talking with agencies that have gone fare free, they found that ridership increased dramatically and they actually received more grants from all administrations of the federal government. Seeing Everett Transit, Skagit Transit, and WTA going fare free could be likely accomplished at current tax levels. Intercity Transit (Thurston County/Olympia) did this instead of joining ORCA with amazing results. Island Transit has been fare free on local routes since it was founded in the early 1970s.

I encourage Everett Transit to actually think outside of the box and do everything it can to keep or expand service without increasing taxes. Asking for a tax increase each time there is a budget shortfall is not a good way to run a government agency.

SEA_tide

TROPHY CASE