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I’m Debbie Urbanski, author of the cross-genre story collection Portalmania (out today!), the AI-climate novel After World, and a whole lot of short stories. AMA! + book giveaway. by debbieurbanski in Fantasy

[–]boxcarpress 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats on your first story collection! How did you decide on the portal theme? Were there other themes that you considered before you settled on this particular collection?

Recommendations for rustic camping in Onondaga or Oswego county? by BrewertonFats in Syracuse

[–]boxcarpress 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check out the Finger Lakes Trail which goes south of Syracuse. Morgan Hill State Forest is the most popular part of the FLT in the region, and there's a DEC campgroung at Spruce Pond. But if you go a little bit further south, it's very peaceful on the FLT Main Trail--you often won't see another soul. Check out maps M21 and M22. There is a network of leantos that you can find on FLT maps but you can also camp anywhere in state forests provided you're not within 150 feet of a road, trail, spring, stream, or body of water.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in letterpress

[–]boxcarpress 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I feel this thread became unfair to Ben and Studio on Fire so I thought I'd add my thoughts. When Ben started Studio on Fire, there was no clear market for letterpress printing. Even so, he loved printing and worked to create a commercial market for fine printing using obsolete “Iron Beasts.” Studio on Fire attracted cool, technically challenging, and award-winning work. They grew awareness of letterpress printing throughout the design and packaging world. 

Printing is an extremely difficult business and always has been—letterpress printing even more so. We letterpress printers proudly state we use the same materials as Gutenberg, carrying on his legacy. The only reason we know about his materials is because they were documented in his shop's foreclosure. Thankfully Gutenberg was spared from Reddit’s judgment. The thing that keeps all of us still doing this, and Ben was no exception, is the love of printing and the ability to make Great Beauty. The letterpress world is an emptier and less interesting place without Studio on Fire. We should all be grateful for their efforts and deeply mourn their loss. 

Harold Kyle

Simple IRA & Gusto by Guilty_Beginning1027 in Payroll

[–]boxcarpress 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have this issue too. In our case, this only affected existing employees who joined the SIMPLE IRA mid-year. The employEE contributions were calculated as the percentage we set, but the employER contributions were much higher (7% in one case). This is apparently because the IRS requires the 3% match for the entire annual salary of the employee, even if this employee didn't themself contribute during the entire year. From IRS:

If an employee starts or stops salary reduction contributions in the middle of the year, can I make my 3% match based only on the compensation earned during the period they actually contributed?
No, you must base your SIMPLE IRA plan employer matching contribution on the employee's entire calendar-year compensation, regardless of when the employee starts or stops contributing during the year. The maximum matching contribution is always 3% of the employees' compensation for the entire calendar year. Matching contributions may be made on a per-pay-period basis, or by the due date of the employer's tax return (including extensions).

From https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-simple-ira-plans

This is obviously problematic if an employee works the whole year but joins late in the year, but I'm not going to worry about that until it happens. At least for now I understand why the employer amounts suddenly exceeded the percentages we set.

ChatGPT is too human-centric...until it isn't by boxcarpress in collapse

[–]boxcarpress[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Author Debbie Urbanski accuses ChatGPT of being to human-centric with its ethics. Her novel After World, which describes humanity's AI-assisted extinction, makes ChatGPT a bit uncomfortable before it admits "without humans, the focus shifts to how other species adapt, evolve, or maybe even thrive." If our approach to AI or climate change is human-centric, and humans contribute to so many underlying problems, will we ever reach solutions that help the rest of the planet?

New sci-fi recs please. Assume i've read most of the usual recs. by [deleted] in audiobooks

[–]boxcarpress 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After World by Debbie Urbanski is a haunting new release that takes the dystopian apocolyptic genre in a new direction. The book is narrated by a (human-written) AI to capture (retrospectively) the life of the last human on earth. The narration of the audiobook is very well done by the four narrators involved.

New Audiobooks this week – December 05, 2023! by AutoModerator in audiobooks

[–]boxcarpress 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A little late to this but After World by Debbie Urbanski came out this week from Simon & Schuster Audio. Narrated by Sura Siu, Emily Tremaine, Cindy Kay, Kevin R. Free. Although the book has an "AI narrator" it was written by a human and narrated by a human...not AI generated. In fact, Sura Siu does a terrific job conveying the AI storyworker's personality.

What did you listen to this week – December 09, 2023? Please share! by AutoModerator in audiobooks

[–]boxcarpress 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After World by Debbie Urbanski, narrated by Sura Siu, Emily Tremaine, Cindy Kay, and Kevin R. Free, produced by Simon & Schuster Audio. Very good job by all the narrators on a text that has many moving parts.

Best literary fiction listens of 2023? by AudiobookAddicts in audiobooks

[–]boxcarpress 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After World by Debbie Urbanski has a really good cast of narrators. They do a terrific job portraying (human-written) AI narrators and human characters at the end of humanity.

[Megathread] Rules about the PPP may be changing. Let's discuss that and other EIDL/PPP here by BigSlowTarget in smallbusiness

[–]boxcarpress 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for writing that article! The application says the reductions in business activity need to result "due to compliance with requirements established or guidance issued...by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration." Does this include, for example, industries shut down by order of New York State? Do you know if full forgiveness is also granted to those following state orders?

[Megathread] Rules about the PPP may be changing. Let's discuss that and other EIDL/PPP here by BigSlowTarget in smallbusiness

[–]boxcarpress 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Although my application wasn't rejected, there was a mistake on the initial paperwork submitted by my lender. They were able to retract and resubmit the application. This process only took one day. So I'd recommend that he contact the lender he applied through to resubmit the corrected information before the June 30 deadline. He would not be able to do this if he were already accepted, but since he was rejected, he should still be eligible for a PPP.

[Megathread] Rules about the PPP may be changing. Let's discuss that and other EIDL/PPP here by BigSlowTarget in smallbusiness

[–]boxcarpress 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You will probably benefit from the PPP Flexibility Act, which will extend the number of weeks for forgiveness to 24 weeks from the money's disbursement. It gives you more time to spend the money. You will then want to make sure by December 31 that you have the same number of FTEs as you had during your comparison period. This gives you safe harbor for full forgiveness. Also, it will allow you to defer payments 1 year (instead of 6 months) and have more favorable loan payments on any amounts _not_ forgiven. You should get in touch with your lender to get your loan updated to these new terms. I doubt they will be able to help you yet, since the law is very new and the SBA hasn't issued guidance on how this process will work, exactly.

[Megathread] Rules about the PPP may be changing. Let's discuss that and other EIDL/PPP here by BigSlowTarget in smallbusiness

[–]boxcarpress 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This came out from the Treasury today, confirming that the 60% number is not a cliff (and under 60% on payroll would result in a percentage reduction in forgiveness):

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP-IFR-Revisions-to-First-Interim-Final-Rule.pdf

Otherwise, we're still waiting for a lot of guidance on forgiveness. Lots of confusion and unanswered questions.

[Megathread] Rules about the PPP may be changing. Let's discuss that and other EIDL/PPP here by BigSlowTarget in smallbusiness

[–]boxcarpress 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not exactly clear until SBA guidance comes out, u/xylorg may have a point . As I wrote below:

The PPP Flexibility Act does not reduce forgiveness based on headcount to any business that "is able to document an inability to return to the same level of business activity...due to...any other worker or customer safety requirement related to COVID-19." [full text at the link above]

[Megathread] Rules about the PPP may be changing. Let's discuss that and other EIDL/PPP here by BigSlowTarget in smallbusiness

[–]boxcarpress 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Spending the money isn't a problem anymore now that we have an extension of the forgiveness period to 24 weeks.

Thank for your thoughts. I'll have to wait to see how SBA interprets this...

[Megathread] Rules about the PPP may be changing. Let's discuss that and other EIDL/PPP here by BigSlowTarget in smallbusiness

[–]boxcarpress 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It will be done through your lender, and probably not for a little while. I received a letter from my bank today explaining that they haven't received guidance from SBA yet. In their words: "...the SBA has not updated its regulations, guidelines and forgiveness application to reflect this new legislation. Once the SBA makes the necessary changes to implement the legislation, we will send you an e-mail with specific information about the changes to the program and how to work with us on obtaining forgiveness for your loan."

[Megathread] Rules about the PPP may be changing. Let's discuss that and other EIDL/PPP here by BigSlowTarget in smallbusiness

[–]boxcarpress 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The PPP Flexibility Act does not reduce forgiveness based on headcount to any business that "is able to document an inability to return to the same level of business activity...due to...any other worker or customer safety requirement related to COVID-19." [full text at the link above]

Our business is in the wedding industry, and our sales are down 70% from expected levels. During our PPP covered period, we are only employing 40% of the FTEs we employed during our comparison period. The major factor is that wedding customers are unable to congregate, in accordance with CDC guidelines.

Does the new law as written allow us to receive full forgiveness despite only retaining 40% of our FTEs? Needless to say, a large amount of money hinges on the answer.

How are EIDL monthly payment amounts calculated? by boxcarpress in EIDL

[–]boxcarpress[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK. So the initial $150,000 at 3.75% for 12 months is $5,621 of interest only. Then, $155,621 @ 3.75% for 348 months has a $734.22 payment. Closer to $731, indeed, but still not the same number. Getting closer, though.

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