The AICPA (American Institute of CPAs) has begun an ad campaign to bolster their image.  It's almost like a poem:

Each Day
Every Day
In big cities and small towns.
Away from the headlines.
We are here.
Auditing financial statements.
Providing tax services.
And delivering business insight.
Counted on for our integrity.
Passionate about getting it right.
And intolerant of those who break the rules.
We depend on your trust
and work to earn it
each day, every day.
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
and State CPA Societies
The 350,000 Men and Women of the CPA Profession
(emphasis mine). 

When was the last time you heard a radio ad with the phrase: "intolerant of those who break the rules"?

10:04:36 PM  comment []    

Fascinating weblog on Energy, Oil, and Gas via den Beste. 

9:57:13 PM  comment []    

Milo had a great baseball practice today.  He pitched for the first time in a scrimmage.  He went right up to the coach and asked: "Can I pitch second?"  He got up there with the new windup he learned at baseball camp this week and threw very well.  Only one walk, a couple of hits, and no runs in his inning. 

Confession time.  The dads played alongside the kids during the scrimmage.  I was on the other team.  I faced my son.  What a quandry.  I was up batting left, so there wasn't any chance of me swinging hard.  What to do?  I decided to swing at everything and come what may.  I missed a ball down and outside, fouled one back, then grounded one toward short.  I beat out the throw and got a single.

Does this qualify me for the bad dad's hall of fame?  I didn't get a chance to talk with Milo, since we were jumping on and off the field.  I wasn't sure what his reaction was.  He seemed happy with his performance.  I checked in with him when the practice was over: "Were you mad that I got a hit off of you?"  "Oh no," he responds, surprised. 

What a great kid!

9:32:15 PM  comment []    

Mariners beat Texas again. They've won six in a row -- all on the road.  They're 9-3.  What was their record after 12 games last year?  9-3.  Yesterday, they learned that their amazing designated hitter, Edgar Martinez would be out 4-6 weeks (at least).  People started grousing, but I smiled inwardly. 

I'm not happy for Edgar.  I'm concerned that he may never play again.  But I have seen a superstar's injury make the team come together and turn it up a notch.  This happened in 1995 when the Miracle M's had Ken Griffey, Jr. go down with a broken hand.  And just last year, Jay Buhner's foot injury kept him out of the lineup until the very end of that unbelievable season. 

Why does this happen?  The players aren't waiting for a superstar ex machina to come in and save the day. 

9:21:11 PM  comment []    

Blogaritaville: Price fixing since 1996 caused CD sales slowdown:

since 1995-96, when both the FTC and 28 states' Attorneys General maintain that the major record labels colluded to fix prices for compact discs, the RIAA's figures show a steady increase in the average price of a CD. the numbers also reveal that while the labels were engaged in price-fixing the overall sales of CDs slowed relative to the preceding period of aggressive price competition.

via Scripting News

9:09:00 PM  comment []