Intermission

Another tape that I like to listen to. It has mostly 80's pop music.

How to read Financial Statements

Being able to read Financial statements is useful if you plan on getting into investing in stocks.

Lesson 12: How to Detect a Crappy Accountant

According to my professor there is only one existing accounting joke in the whole world. I think there are more, but she was just trying to make a point that accountants are stereotypically quiet, un-humourous, and serious people. Stereotypes are all fun and games, but when you start to use them as a point of measure in the hiring process or in standardized testing, I object. When running a business it is essential to motivate your employees by allowing them access to their score. Business is like a basketball game, if you don't know how you are doing based on the numbers, then it is impossible to play the game. Well, perhaps you could still play the game, but it would much resemble Drew Carry's "Whose line is it Anyway?" In order to have an accurate score you should be familiar with basic accounting principles and hire an accountant. Finding a good accountant is essential to score keeping. Here are some tips that were imparted to me by a veteran accountant, professor and established owner of her own firm:

1. If you ask them how they got the numbers and they tell you that it is too complicated for you to understand, fire them.
2. If you ask them for an analysis and he or she says they will get back to you in a week, fire them.
3. If you ask them for advice on improving your numbers and they just shrug their shoulders, fire them.

Good accountants will be familiar enough with how they arrived at their data; so much so that they will be able to explain it to you on your terms. Good accountants are punctual and know how to meet deadlines on your terms with in reason. Good accountants will be open to helping you out on your tax related matters rather than being a tool that just cranks out numbers. If you come to them for advice about improving your scores, they should be willing to help you out with some tips.

I love Ramen!!

One of the restaurants my friend raves about is Gomaichi. They are said to have the most authentic tasting ramen on the island. I don't really know who made this great claim but I ate there twice and can tell you with confidence that it is true to me. They have this special ramen that they serve there that tastes like no other, the name slips my mind at the moment. One minus about the place is the location. Parking is a pain in the neck, so make sure to bring a lot of quarters. Ramen is also a great meal for those on a budget; as the prices there are relatively low. Here are a bunch of links for the ramen fanatics out there! Ramen Miscellanea, Ramen Blog and Go Ramen.

Motivational Tapes and Me

Thanks for the "Massive Love Songs" wendebular. How could I not post this tape, this one has total eclipse! Classic I tell you. Brandon you know you like this song. Another audio adventure I went on consisted of Brian Tracy and his take on Goals. For those who are interested in the main idea, but not actually listening to the whole 3-4 hours I will boil it down for you. To reach your goals faster treat them like your space seat in hyper drive. Imagine that you are a commander of an elite space ship like on Star Trek. Should you need to accelerate to the fastest speed your main concern is to have a chair to strap your self into so you don't have a Space balls scenario. You can hold onto and can visualize your chair. You make sure that it is in working order every day in order to prepare for hyper drive and use it to reach all of your high tech navigating equipment. Treat your goals as if they are as real as an in-animate object. Know about them so well that it is effortless to identify in your mind. I really liked all the filler though. It gave me a lot of profound insight regarding the subject.

Lesson 11: How to Avoid and Atone for "Be-Lated"

I admit it, I forgot. I forgot a birthday and feel terrible about it. Especially when that friend of mine has been a friend for over 14 years now. So now I am working on a birthday present. I figured that since I forgot I might as well do something time consuming and creative in order to make sure I remember for the next round. Plus I was never a fan of splurging just because I feel guilty. That type of behavior is for people worth six figures. So anyway when I finish this project perhaps some secret photos will appear, but for the time being here is a site that might help me and whomever else to remember important dates, it is kind of like having a personal secretary.

Lesson 10: Watching TV with out Owning a TV

Television, can't live with it and can't live with out it. Or can you? I think yes. There are a boat load of sites out there that offer free movies and videos. All in all, having cable television and internet seem like a waste of money. Let me do the math for you. Say that you pay about $50 a month for cable and highspeed internet. That comes out to about $600 a year. But if you cut out the cable and just pay for internet your bill would probably come out to about $30 a month saving you $20 each month. So each year that comes out to $240 in savings per year. Not only does the internet give you convenience, it also offers a wider variety of entertainment. Extricating yourself from cable might sound like a painful process. After all, cable television has become a staple of the American household, regardless of income. But as for me I think I would be much happier with the extra $240 a year rather than a pair of re-runs and cartoons in hand. As a child my family never had cable, and it helped me to develop other hobbies like reading and sports. One thing that is not so good about the internet is that it is a little harder to control. So if there are children involved I would suggest to put some measures on there to make sure they don't watch porno. As mentioned in Lesson 5 and 6, there are a lot of things that you can get for free on the internet, the important point is to remember the meaning of free. Free means that there is no exchange of money for whatever received therefore there can be no exchange based on the quality of the item. A lot of people approach the Internet as if they are entitled to those "free" things because they pay for the monthly bill. However, the Internet seems to work much like a public school. You pay for the schools functions in taxes, but you really have no direct control over the teachers and how the school is run because it is headed by a very large organization the DOE. Complaints can be made, but they are not always taken seriously, because sadly, free education is seen as a privilege not a right. So for those who prefer total and complete control I suggest private school or to keep that cable (or to protest). Money is a way to buy greater control over many situations. Free services offered by a provider on the Internet is simply a way for the site to attract traffic so unless money is exchanged in the process, complaints about that particular site seem just as amusing as the entertainment offered there.