* Get Quicken set up and put everything in it. I've tried this before but not yet succeeded. Spent a couple of hours wrastling with it today and will continue the tedious setup process over the weekend, between gimlets and go-kart racing.
* Finally do something with the domain www.scheherazade.org, which I've owned for years now but have not yet made into anything.
* Get my car detailed.
* Sort out my stereo problems. This will probably mean getting a wireless whatsit for my existing (pretty good) receiver, so that I can send music to my regular receiver and reasonably decent speakers from my laptop, which has a pretty extensive music library on it and hard drive space for lots more, and on which I do some pretty elaborate playlists for events like dinner parties, etc. And then maybe getting another set of small, wireless speakers for the kitchen, where I spend a lot of time but where there's not space for big speakers. I've been waiting for a couple of years for the component manufacturers to solve the problem of a largely digital library for people who don't want to listen to music out of tinny computer speakers or have their computer chained to the room where their stereo is, and who don't want a complete home media solution that requires an investment banker's budget. I'm still dissatisfied with the solutions out there (which implies I've done my homework exhaustively -- a false impression to be sure), but am going to figure something out soon.
OK, here's the key to Quicken: start with the new year. Do your taxes the old-fashioned way this year, and start by just listing your accounts/investments and their value as of January 1, 2004.
This is so much easier than any other way. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask: this is one area I've got a lot of experience in, having set up my parent's personal finances on Quicken and business on Quickbooks...
Posted by: A. Rickey | January 03, 2004 at 01:23 AM