Twitter
27 04 09 - 09:27. Category:
I don't get the Twitter explosion going on.
Why would you want constant 170 (give or take) character upates on people's lives? It's like Facebook status on 'roids. Even Facebook is good for the occasional glance, but that's about it.
And apparently I'm already on Twitter though:
http://twitter.com/DerekFoote. It's some guy in Spokane, which is oddly close to me, but not me. He seems very active.
Anyone care to explain the appeal of Twittering?
Button convert
21 04 09 - 16:31. Category:
As part of my post-tax season personal therapy, I put the magic plastic to good use last weekend.
It was a Gap outlet having a sale, there were pants the right color, and they were in my size. I'm not to blame here.
Woe-begotton at the button fly when I pulled them off the shelf, I took them to the fitting room anyway. I had to give them a shot. They fit perfect!
32" x 34" jeans are very hard to find because either a) everyone is that size or b) it's so perportional it is being bred out of our blimping society. I've tried multiple stores in a day with no success in the past.
After a weekend of wearing them around, I have to concede that I like the button fly. It's not as speedy, but it's different. They are just enough change for me to like it rather than loath it. Dare I say it is somehow classier?
Oh gods look at me now... all pretencious with my fancy button up jeans from Gap. Sorry Old Navy, I still love you I promise!
CPA fun fact
20 04 09 - 13:22. Category:
You know those "If you do not receive a receipt please let management know and receive a free cookie" sign some retailers have at their registers? It's not for customer service and satisfaction. It's to keep employees from stealing.
It's one method of a company implementing internal controls. Basically by requiring the use of a POS system and receipt ledgers it prevents employees from pocketing cash on a sale. If you don't receive a receipt, there's a chance the transaction wasn't run through the till.
The manager probably doesn't care about your satifsaction at getting a receipt. The cookie isn't an apology. The cookie is a reward for alerting the manager to an employee potentially stealing from the company.
And that is the first fun fact I learned while studying for the CPA exam.
Praise the Gods
15 04 09 - 11:26. Category:
APRIL 15TH IS HERE.
Fun w/ numbers!
11 04 09 - 16:48. Category:
For a lack of anything better to do for the five hours that I was required to be in the office today, I did maths! The fun kind! I did some basic analysis of my hours on projects and my billings too.
On average (n=13) I'm under budget on my projects by 1.68 hours, this includes a project that I was over budget on by 16.78 hours. My standard deviation from budget is 7.73 hours. Not too bad I think. Close to budget on average, deviating by only about a day.
My billable percentage is looking good too (n=16). My averaged realized billing is 97.61%, with 2.39% of the average amount of work I do being written off the project. I expected this to be a LOT higher due to my learning curve and lower work efficiency. However these numbers do not factor in that project I went 16 hours over budget on, or a few other larger projects that are still in process but out of my hands.
Excluding work on individuals returns, I've done about $21,000 (gross) worth of work for the company since January. So far my net billings is only about $8,000 though, because a majority of this work has not been invoiced.
It's pretty cool to be able to see the actual revenue I'm generating for the company. Now ffs let me go home, there's nothing to do.
Run for your lives!
08 04 09 - 22:37. Category:
The mass has been slowly building, the ribbons of chaos twisting and forming into something truly horrifying. It's both captivating and terrifying.
It's moving closer! Be careful, don't let it suck you in! It'll wrap your mind and cause great confusion before you know what has happened.
Run! There's nothing to stop it now! Flee before it is too late!
Need a blood sample too?
06 04 09 - 20:29. Category:
Here I thought just a passport photo to go along with my CPA exam app was excessive... there's more!
"A digital photo will be takne as part of the check-in procedures... the test center check-in procedures will include biometric identification requirements. Your ID will be scanned and swiped in a magnetic strip and barcode reader and biometrics will be used to capture your finger print to increase security and identity validation."
In addition, here are some of the items you can't take with you in to test:
Eyeglass Case
Jewelry - pendant necklace or large earrings
Purse/Wallet
Watch
Container of any kind
Non-prescription sunglasses
Weapon of any kind
Holy crap already! I understand that it's a test to get a government certification, but good lord! Two photos, two forms of ID both scanned, and fingerprints taken. And I'll have to hand over my phone, wallet, and watch. Am I committing a crime taking this test?
The schedule is now set at least:
May 29: Audit and Attestation, 9:00am, 5:00 hours.
July 24: Regulation, 8:00am, 3:30 hours.
Agust 31: Business Environment and Concepts, 9:00am, 3:00 hours.
That will leave me with just Financial Accounting and Reporting to schedule once I finish up those three. It will be sometime around the end of October.
EIGHT MORE DAYS OF TAX SEASON!
Slightly belated quickies
04 04 09 - 15:51. Category:
Quickies
- For my work computer I use the same password every 30 days and just rotate through the alphabet for the last letter. My old password was password+h, yesterday morning in my half-asleep stupor I reset it to the logical next consecutive letter, password+g.
- Credit card "points" are a joke. They Signed me up for the new Chase card (cause apparently my no-points WaMu card was just too old). The highest end thing you can get is a round trip airline ticket to anywhere, but it can't exceed $350. So effectively it means a round trip ticket maybe halfway across the country. I bought a one way ticket this summer from Wyoming to Oregon and that was $150. It also requires $24,000 worth of points spending. The low in stuff is $10-$25 gift cards, which require $1,000 to $2,500 worth of spending. The scale is just stupid.
- Go see Fanboys. David and I enjoyed it, they do a good job with the nerdiness without taking it over the top. It also just has the right amount of warm fuzzies.
- The birds are back! My mornings haven't been full of chatter in an exceptional amount of time, it was nice to have them back for company as I get ready in the mornings.
ONE WEEK AND 2.5 DAYS OF TAX SEASON REMAINING
Recession benefits
01 04 09 - 08:44. Category:
I opened the bill for my private student loans and found a nice surprise. My interest rate dropped 2.35%. Can't say I'll be complaining about that any time soon.
Anyone else actually had interest rates change in their favor as part of this recession? Any other benefits to an ailing economy?
