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Irrational Numbers

More Red Tape

July 1, 2008

Congress is on the verge of requiring payment card processors to tell the Internal Revenue Service how much money merchants receive through credit card and debit card transactions. … “This proposal does not raise taxes on anyone,” said Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee. “These information reports would just cause people to file more [...]

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Can Good Accounting Solve the High Gas Price problem?

June 23, 2008

The short answer is NO. No amount of accounting is going to make the prices lower at the pump. (Surprised you, huh? I bet you thought I was going to wax poetic about some underused tax deduction.) But Good Accounting can help you save money on expenses (and taxes) including your fuel expenses. I always [...]

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The Optimist’s View: High Gas Prices Might Have a Good Long Term Effect

June 21, 2008

This post from Business Opportunities and Ideas opines that there are some good things about high gas prices. I must admit the same idea has crossed my mind… However, I don’t think the high price of oil is a bad thing. For years we’ve been warned that oil is running out and that burning it [...]

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Perhaps we don’t need to worry about the price of Gas

June 15, 2008

He means bugs. To be more precise: the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil. Unbelievably, this is not science fiction. Mr Pal holds up a small beaker of bug [...]

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Friday 13th not more unlucky, study shows

June 13, 2008

Just goes to show you what a little empirical analysis will do: A study published on Thursday by the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics (CVS) showed that fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft occur when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday than on other Fridays. Friday 13th not more unlucky, [...]

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NueroSurgeons Don’t Hold Cell Phones To Their Ears

June 8, 2008

I use my cell all day, everyday.  Maybe I should stop? “We cannot say with any certainty that cellphones are either safe or not safe,” Dr. Black said on CNN. “My concern is that with the widespread use of cellphones, the worst scenario would be that we get the definitive study 10 years from now, [...]

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No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

June 8, 2008

The IRS is giving a hard time to Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker: Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker had to fight the IRS to allow him to claim the portion of his salary he gives back to the county as a charitable donation, Walker says. Walker gave back $60,000 a year of his $129,000 salary [...]

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Who Orders things online?

June 5, 2008

Looks like mean ol’ New York is going to start taxing Amazon. Savvy shoppers have long enjoyed a simple rule of thumb: buy from out-of-state e-tailers, save the tax. The Empire State is the first (and so far only) state to require online retailers to collect sales tax even when they have no “physical presence” [...]

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Best. Website. Ever.

June 2, 2008

I recently came across the coolest website ever at the National Federation of Independent Business. The website is 411SmallBusinessFacts.com. I have to be careful, I could read this all day. This website has compiled the results of over 2000 small business surveys For instance did you know that Sixty-one (61) percent of small-employer taxpayers typically [...]

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They seem to know what they are doing, but……

May 24, 2008

I don’t think anybody would ever dispute Disney’s Preeminence as brand but thre are some who question exactly how they got there. Here is an article at Church of the Customer about Disney’s curious decision to close down a successful and profitable web site simply becuase it doesn’t fit “their model”. Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom [...]

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This is why Pittsburgh Sports are the Greatest

May 15, 2008

Look at Casey Hampton and Deshea Townsend (Steeler players) cheering for the Pens from behind the glass! (Hampton is from Texas and Townsend is from Alabama.)

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So, is this what your Salespeople Do?

May 11, 2008

It seems so hard to ask somebody to sell something, when that person doesn’t even know what the prospect even needs….

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Lettermans Top 10 “Reason’s I like being an Accountant”

April 28, 2008

I found number (3) especially funny — check out how it is cracking up the people in the background.

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101 tips on great writing

April 24, 2008

I really enjoyed reading this – many of my pet peeves involve lazy, hackneyed, pseudo-intellectual writing styles. Here are some gem’s from the list: 2. Excessive hyperbole is literally the kiss of death. 29. Don’t mess with Mr. Anthropomorphism. 37. Nouns should never be verbed. 46. Colloquialisms are for barmpots. 71. Many words can ostensibly [...]

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April Fools? Or April ‘Cruel’s?

April 4, 2008

I wrote this “April Fools” letter to my Clients – but I think it went beyond prank and maybe into cruelty: Dear _~client name here~_ I regret to inform you that i have recently received communication from the IRS regarding your personal tax return from 2004. They believe that you have under-reported your capital gains [...]

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