I’ve got to admit I’m not a big online chatter. This, despite that I once wrote a novel in which half the dialogue took place through IM windows.

But I have enjoyed the occasional chat with family or friends, especially when I was living oversees and the cost of international calls were much higher. I remember at one cubicle job I had, the server blocked us from using any chat software aside from the intranet version, which was rather useless. Even AOL’s online version – where no application is required – was blocked.

But now there’s Meebo, which not only allows you to chat without downloading a thing, but also consolidates all your accounts into one. That means you can be signed into all your AOL screen names, your Yahoo!, your MSN, ICQ, Google, whatever you’ve got going on there – at the same time!

And it works remarkable well, complete with a very nifty sound effect every time someone contacts you. So check it out and spread the word. They also have a chat interface you can put right in your blog, for those with ridiculous amounts of free time on your hands. (That’s envy speaking, not redicule.)

Yup, it’s that time again… perhaps the worst time of the year for everyone except accountants, right?

But there’s a least one bit of good news this year, courtesty of moneygirl’s podcast.

The IRS is refunding more than $10 billion for a federal excise tax on long-distance telephone service. The tax started all the way back in 1898 to help fund the Spanish-American War and has helped fund wars since then, yes, including the one we’re in now, it seems.

But it was repealed recently after the IRS lost a series of federal court cases showing the tax no longer applies to long-distance service. (Cheering! Arsenio Hall-hooting!) (I know, I know, Arsenio references… you’re now thinking I’m as ancient as the Spanish-American War. Well maybe I am.)
Now, while $10 billion may sound like a lot, don’t forget there are 300 million people in this country. So… at the end of the return, we’re only talking about $60 bucks, unless you’re a big-time talker. But hey, $60 is $60 right?

Here’s how the credit works: The IRS will refund the 3% long-distance telephone excise tax you paid from March 1, 2003 to August 1, 2006 plus interest. The refund applies to anyone who had long-distance or bundled service (whether landline, wireless, or voice over IP).

You can either go through your old telephone bills from that period and add up the tax you paid plus interest and claim a refund for that amount. Or, take the easy path: simply claim the standard amount set by the IRS.

It’s been a long time since I posted an IQ-tip… not for lack of desire, mind you. Just didn’t have any quality tips to pass along. But the dry spell is over, thanks to ehow.com. Check out these fancy directions for a double front flip off a 1 meter diving board! (And don’t forget your mental_floss tee for step one.)

Back in August, I posted an IQ-tip about GoodSearch.com. If you recall, that’s the search engine that allows you to contribute to your favorite charity every time you conduct a search (and it costs you absolutely nothing!). Since then, I’ve been using GoodSearch pretty much exclusively and have been able to raise a good bit of money for some of the charities I support (you don’t even want to know how many searches I do each day, especially for Tuesday Turnip).

Well, here at the _floss, the philanthropic tips just keep coming. Allow me to introduce you to TurtleTip.com. The basic concept is simple: whenever you get crap service at a restaurant, simply give the waitperson a smaller tip than normal and a note from TurtleTip, explaining that the rest of his tip has just been donated to a charity of your choosing.

I think it’s pretty ingenious, actually, and have already signed up. Check out all the details over at TurtleTip.com.

If you missed the previous installments, we’re on an IQ-tips timewarp trip this week, dipping into Amy Vanderbilt’s classic book from the 1950s, The Complete Book of Etiquette, looking at her chapter on Home Entertaining.

Poor Amy never saw the iPod or Myspace coming when she wrote these tips on music listening. Check it out:

Good music is often a stimulus to conversation if it is kept in the background. If everyone, or nearly everyone, is interested in music, classical or otherwise, the hostess may ask if certain records or special programs will be welcome. Then conversation may—or may not—cease. Many a delightful evening with friends can be spent with hardly a word exchanged if all are listening to music.

Few people can or want to talk against the blare of the radio or the glare and chatter of the television screen. If you plan an evening of radio, bridge, poker, or television, say so and give any guests who prefer a different evening the opportunity to leave approximately one hour after dinner.

If you missed the previous installments, we’re on an IQ-tips timewarp trip this week, dipping into Amy Vanderbilt’s classic book from the 1950s, The Complete Book of Etiquette, looking at her chapter on Home Entertaining.

Yesterday we looked at her tips on Ice Breakers. So here’s what she has to say on the art of conversation, assuming, of course, you’ve successfully broken the ice:

The talk-talk kind of conversation does little but fill time better left unfilled. The chatterbox, usually feminine, rattles on very often because she is really ill at ease socially and in this way tries to make herself felt.

In conversation it is not really necessary to have a ready opinion on everything. On the contrary, good conversation develops opinions and this depends on an ability to listen as well as to express oneself.

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If you missed yesterday’s installment, we’re on an IQ-tips timewarp trip this week, dipping into Amy Vanderbilt’s classic book from the 1950s, The Complete Book of Etiquette, looking at her chapter on Home Entertaining.

Nowadays, if you’re stuck for what to say at a party, it’s always easy to pull something out of our savvy new book, Cocktail Party Cheat Sheets. But the poor folk stuck back in Amy Vanderbilt’s day weren’t so lucky. Check it out:

Occasionally, even the most astute hostess will find gathered under her roof—perhaps at a birthday party where relatives and friends are of varying ages—a group of people it is difficult to entertain. In this circumstance games are often very helpful as ice breakers. “The Game” is very popular even among intellectuals. “Ghosts” is also entertaining. I remember playing it when our electric power went off for four days and we wearied of trying to read by candle, lamp, and flashlight. Even a spelling bee can be fun in a large crowd of young and old. A book of games is probably an excellent addition to everyone’s home library.

[ed. note: I guess I’m no son of an intellectual, because my parents have no idea what “The Game” refers to. Any readers care to enlighten us? And while you’re at it, how about “Ghosts”???]

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You guys seemed to appreciate last week’s IQ-tips on remote control etiquette so much, it gave me an idea: how about we take a journey through the etiquette of our past, an IQ-tips timewarp trip. Many of you have probably heard of Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Book of Etiquette, but have you ever read it?

If only for the laughs, it’s worthy of a full week’s worth of posts, I thought. So, in place of my usual themes (Tuesday Turnip, Thingamajig Thursday, etc.), I’ll be spending the better part of the week dipping into Vanderbilt’s classic guide to gracious living, starting today with some tips from her chapter on Home Entertaining, more specifically, the use of television.

Remember now: we’ve just turned back the clock to Nov 13th, 1950!

The hostess with a television set should never assume that her guests are willing or eager to look at it. It is safer to assume that callers came to talk with their friends, not to enjoy their television. They probably have a set at home they could have turned on.

If unexpected guests arrive during the course of a telecast that the family is obviously enjoying, the hostess may say, “We like this program and look at it each week, so I hate to shut it off, but perhaps you would like to see it? If not, let’s go into another room and any of the others who care to may join us.”

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My wife and I were fighting over the remote the other night—literally fighting—when it flew out of our grips and went sailing across the room, nearly destroying a ceramic baby rattle from about 350 B.C., which someone had once given me as a present.

After wiping my brow and turning the remote over to her so she could watch her stupid show (and what other adjective could be used to describe the “other” person’s show but stupid?) I decided to hunt around online for some etiquette tips we could agree on, laminate, and keep on our Noguchi coffee table (knock-off, of course) for the next round.

Not only did I find some tips worthy of lamination from this great article over at the BBC, but just look at the contributors! (“10 tips” found after the jump.) As always, if you have any remote control etiquette tips of your own to add, we’re always happy to hear from you.

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The other week my wife came home with a bag of avocados, all of them rock-hard. “You couldn’t have at least gotten a bag with ONE ripe one in there?” I railed.

She shrugged and said something like, “You do the shopping next time then.”

Fine, she had me there, but I still wanted to make guacamole in time for a party we were throwing in a couple days without having to go out and buy another batch. So I did some poking around online and found some great ripening tips over at FoodGeeks.com, a website with a title we here at the _floss embrace wholehearts-of-palm-edly.

To ripen fruits such as avocados, bananas and tomatoes, enclose them in a brown paper bag with an apple for 2-3 days. Apples give off nitrogen gas that speeds up the ripening process.

And you know what? It worked! For some other really cool tips, like how to peel garlic with ease, or how to make ice cubes in a pinch, check outFoodGeeks household tips page.