Month: May 2012
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New Jersey law lets drivers accused of drunken driving stay on roads and do it again – Mauro case dismissal for 3rd arrest follows just 3 days after Sotomayer 5th DUI arrest
People in our neighborhood are just starting to hear about the Roger Mauro Jr. hearing last Friday (May 18, 2012) and I want to be careful to distinguish between the case facts and my opinions as to the breakdown of the prosecution. Much of my information comes from the brief filed by the Cumberland County…
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How Much Do Accounting and Bookkeeping Services Cost?
A passage from the source quoted below: Below is a general breakdown of billing rates for various staff members at professional accounting and bookkeeping firms. Nevertheless, keep in mind that large national firms tend to have higher rates than smaller regional or local firms. CPAs are at the top of the pay scale, commanding $150…
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Average Prices and Fees for Tax Preparation Services
This is based on 2010 data. Current average rates are approximately twice this amount. Average Prices for Tax Preparation Fees It’s a bit easier to find average prices for tax preparation services. The National Society of Accountants in their 2010 fee study reports the following average prices charged by their members: Average for 1040 with…
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Do college students buy term life insurance?
A press release issued yesterday by Aetna said that the company will begin offering group term life insurance with its student health insurance plans. Aetna is one of the two largest issuers of student health insurance policies that have been under political pressure since the 2010 federal health reform law was passed. The student health…
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Tony Novak Certified Public Accountant designation
The State of Delaware approved my Certified Public Accountant certification on May 15, 2012. The details are posted at the link below. After working on this since 2004 (before my auto injury) I consider this a major mile mark. The certificate is not a license to practice public accountancy in Delaware (or any other state)…
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$100 million test of a drug that may stop Alzheimer’s Disease
This story of a potentially huge development in health care ran in the new York Times 5/15/2012: In a clinical trial that could lead to treatments that prevent Alzheimer’s disease, people who are genetically guaranteed to suffer from the disease years from now — but who do not yet have any symptoms — will for…
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“Virus of the mind” – margin notes
This book was published in 1996 by Richard Brodie, the original author credited with publishing Microsoft Word. Although I may be reading it 15 years late, it seems that some of the concepts are more relevant today than when the work was published. These are unformatted margin notes from my reading, published here in my customary…
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thinking about Margot Fonteyn
Margot Fonteyn was a great dancer (the wikipedia page) who is credited with saying “The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking one’s self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.” She died in 1991. The tribute song by Eddie from Ohio moved me…
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Medicare Advantage skewed toward lower income non-white enrollees
Medicare Advantage is a health plan for seniors offered by private insurance carriers as an alternative to traditional Medicare coverage. The attraction and trade-off is that enrollees in Medicare Advantage typically avoid the deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses of traditional Medicare coverage but limit their choice of providers. The core funding comes from the federal government…
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Finances in the Older Patient With Cognitive Impairment, February 16, 2011, Widera et al. 305 (7): 698 — JAMA
Here is another report, this one from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), that physicians are primary contacts in financial decision-making of cognitively impaired patients; presumably those who have not made adequate prior arrangements with a trusted financial adviser. Research of families with special needs children reported the same conclusion. Physicians are too often the…