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Today I sent off my broken hard drive to Ontrack Data Recovery in Secaucus, NJ. They are a preferred partner of Western Digital, which means they won't void the warranty, plus they give a 10% discount and free evaluation for WD drives. And they generally seem professional and competent, so far. But it's looking to be expensive—the range I was quoted was $500-1900. I have a bad habit of not doing any comparison shopping and going with the first reasonable choice, so I have no idea if I'm getting ripped off. I'll post updates here so that others in the future can have a data point for comparison.
Today I also got the bill from the speeding ticket I got in upstate NY on the way home from Louisville. For some reason they don't put the amount of the fine on the ticket itself, so you have to mail it to them and wait for them to mail you the bill (which is $255, for the record). And they don't take personal checks (let alone credit cards or PayPal) so I have to go to the bank to get a money order. What a hassle! In Massachusetts it's nice and easy, you can just pay the fine online. Next time I'll remember to speed only in MA.
I feel like I should be able to declare these as gambling losses on my income tax form: in both cases I took a risk (didn't make backups, drove 80mph) and lost. But that probably won't fly with the IRS.
Today I also got the bill from the speeding ticket I got in upstate NY on the way home from Louisville. For some reason they don't put the amount of the fine on the ticket itself, so you have to mail it to them and wait for them to mail you the bill (which is $255, for the record). And they don't take personal checks (let alone credit cards or PayPal) so I have to go to the bank to get a money order. What a hassle! In Massachusetts it's nice and easy, you can just pay the fine online. Next time I'll remember to speed only in MA.
I feel like I should be able to declare these as gambling losses on my income tax form: in both cases I took a risk (didn't make backups, drove 80mph) and lost. But that probably won't fly with the IRS.