Jim Ulvog – Page 49 – Outrun Change

More ideas on the wealth in the Roman treasury back in 49 B.C.

Gold Roman aureus coin of Roman emperor Trajan. Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

(Cross-posted from my other blog, Attestation Update. I am accumulating all my posts about transportation cost and prices into this blog, Outrun Change, for future reference.)

A while back I discussed a comment I read saying that when Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the Roman treasury held 17,410 pounds of gold, 22,070 pounds of silver and 6,135,400 sesterces.

I made a bunch of wild assumptions and estimated that volume of precious metals would be worth about $361M at today’s market prices.

See my post How much wealth was in the Roman treasury in 49 B.C.? How about annual tax revenue under Augustus?

A reader, Caleb, has expanded the discussion by indicating he thinks the value of gold was dramatically higher back then in relative terms that it is today. He estimates gold was around $7,000 an ounce in today’s dollars. See his comments at the above post for further explanation.

I enjoyed his comments so much I decided to create new post in order to extend the discussion.

Continue reading “More ideas on the wealth in the Roman treasury back in 49 B.C.”

How much wealth was in the Roman treasury in 49 B.C.? How about annual tax revenue under Augustus?

(Cross-posted from a post on 8/22/14 from my other blog, Attestation Update. I’m accumulating all my posts on transportation time and prices in the past here on this blog. Someday plan to link them together to tell a larger story.)

Hadn’t thought about that question too much, but when Jacob Soll mentioned it in his book, The Reckoning: Financial Accountability and the Rise and Fall of Nations, it got me thinking.

He gives the following info:

In his Natural History, Pliny states that in 49 BCE , the year Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the Roman treasury contained 17,410 pounds of gold, 22,070 pounds of silver, and in coin, 6,135,400 sesterces.

Soll, Jacob (2014-04-29). The Reckoning: Financial Accountability and the Rise and Fall of Nations (Kindle Locations 276-277). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.

I don’t think in terms of pounds of gold or silver and I don’t know what a sesterce is or what it is worth. But I do know how to search the ‘net.

I share this on my Nonprofit Update blog and cross-post it here at Attestation Update because I enjoyed it and think it might be some fun trivia for accountants and people working in the faith-based community.

By the way, Prof Soll’s book is superb. Just got started reading it and think I will find lots of little tidbits to share. More on that idea in my next post.

How much is that worth?

Continue reading “How much wealth was in the Roman treasury in 49 B.C.? How about annual tax revenue under Augustus?”

Update on marijuana regulation: Supporting businesses are starting up, including a CPA firm – #20

For background, I am watching the newly state-legal recreational marijuana markets develop in Colorado and elsewhere. My hypothesis, and the reason for my coverage, is that heavy-handed state regulation will strangle a new industry.

10/1 – Accounting Today – Blazing a Trail / A Colorado CPA finds success serving the growing marijuana industry – A CPA in Colorado started getting so much work from cannabis businesses that he started a new firm and moved all that work out of the old firm. The new firm has three partners with total of 10 staff (I think that includes the partners).

Several surprises in the article.

Continue reading “Update on marijuana regulation: Supporting businesses are starting up, including a CPA firm – #20”

Looks like Keith Graves’ trial is a go for this Monday, 10/19

Update 10/19: Federal PACER system shows a filing on 10/16 which gives notice for a pretrial conference at 1 p.m. before Judge Hovland.

Schedule for all four judges is visible here.

Mr. Graves has a pretrial conference at 1 p.m. on 10/19 with the trial scheduled to start at 1:30. The trial is scheduled for all day from 10/20 through Friday 10/23. The trial is one of several cases scheduled each day from 10/26 through 10/30. I’m not sure what it means to have a trial and several hearings all scheduled at the same time.

Looks like trial is moving forward this week.

As of this morning, I can find zero media coverage of the trial via an internet search.

Post as of 10/16: Just looked at the PACER system. Filings through today (10/16) look to me like the trial will start as scheduled this upcoming Monday.

Jury instructions were filed and the US Attorney objected saying they want certain words included for two counts. They want “intent” added.

Witness list was filed by the government.

Continue reading “Looks like Keith Graves’ trial is a go for this Monday, 10/19”

Initial reaction to soap opera allegedly set in Bakken. Viewership collapses by third episode.

Not a mountain to be seen during flight across North Dakota. Photo by James Ulvog.

ABC has a new prime-time soap opera supposedly set in northwest North Dakota. Akin to the old show “Dallas”, the drama is set in the context of the oil industry, this time the booming Bakken region.

Initial reports make me wonder if the writers and producers have even been to North Dakota, let alone set foot inside the northwest part of the state in the last seven years.

Dickinson Press reports on 9/28 that ABC’s ‘Blood and Oil’ gets modest ratings in premiere. First show drew a mere 1.4 rating/4 share. I’m guessing that is good enough to keep the show alive for the moment.

A Reuters article, also in the Dickinson Press on 9/28 reports on the unintended comedic angle: Snow-capped peaks of ‘Blood & Oil’ get panned by North Dakotans. Mountains showing up in the background on a regular basis prompts some viewers to make the show a drinking game. Every time you see a geological farce, like snow-capped mountains common in a reeeeealy flat state, you take a drink. Continue reading “Initial reaction to soap opera allegedly set in Bakken. Viewership collapses by third episode.”

A few more news articles from Bakken

There are six wells on that pad ready to start pumping soon. Enough room for maybe another half dozen. Photo by James Ulvog. — There are six wells on that pad ready to start pumping soon. Enough room to the right of the current pumps for maybe another half-dozen wells or more to be drilled. Check out the storage tanks. I calculate there are 42 tanks! There are six rows of seven tanks. That is a huge amount of on-site storage. I count three wind socks. Photo by James Ulvog.

Here are a few more articles I read while on vacation in North Dakota during September.

9/27 – Grand Forks Herald – Two years after Tioga, N.D., spill, dirty pile still dwarfs clean pile – Cleanup of the big leak north of Tioga has been underway for two years. Somewhere between one-third and one-half of the contaminated dirt had been treated.

Cost so far is about $42M.

The final consensus of how the leak happened is a lighting strike broke through the soil and ruptured the line.

The state is holding off on assessing a fine until they see how the cleanup is resolved.

Continue reading “A few more news articles from Bakken”

More October data on North Dakota oil production

Notice the large amount of empty space on that pad? There will be a lot more wells there eventually. Photo by James Ulvog.

Here are a few more graphs on crude production in North Dakota:

Here is the rig count info:

The count of rigs is not a big as deal today as it was a few years ago because the rig productivity has increased so much. Looking at the last 6 or 8 months seems sort of like a plateau. A slight downward trend but not a dropoff.

Here is the crude price by month: Continue reading “More October data on North Dakota oil production”

North Dakota crude production drops 1.7% in August, total drop of 3.3% since December ’15 high

There are still a lot of rigs visible on the drive from Minot to Williston. Keep in mind that is one of the most productive areas. Photo by James Ulvog. — There are still a lot of drilling rigs visible on the drive from Minot to Williston in September 2015. Keep in mind that is one of the most productive areas. Photo by James Ulvog.

Crude oil production averaged 1,186,444 BOPD in August, which was down only 20,552 barrels a day from July. The high was 1,227,529 in December, which makes August the eighth highest production month on record.

The last 11 months look something like a plateau.

Continue reading “North Dakota crude production drops 1.7% in August, total drop of 3.3% since December ’15 high”

Articles on flaring in Bakken and the new airport in Williston

One of the few wells I noticed with flaring during our September trip to North Dakota. Photo by James Ulvog. — One of the wells I noticed with flaring during our September trip to North Dakota. Seems to me there is a lot less flaring visible now compared to a year ago and two years ago. There is a drilling rig barely visible to the right of the left-most pump. I can pick out two other well sites in this wide view several miles off to the horizon. Photo by James Ulvog.

Here are a few more articles I read during our September vacation in Williston plus another article I’ve been holding since before vacation.

9/25 – Dickinson Press – Environmental group that bashed enforcement of N.D. gas capture policy withdraws analysis – An advocacy group incorrectly stated as a fact that 30 percent of North Dakota wells were non-compliant with flaring rules and the state wasn’t bothering to enforce the law.

The group withdrew their analysis because they did not understand either the flaring rules or the data and therefore reached incorrect conclusions.

State says that all wells required to have a gas capture plan do have one. Thus the actual non-compliance rate is zero.

Continue reading “Articles on flaring in Bakken and the new airport in Williston”

A job slump in Williston would be a boom time in California.

Sign outside Williston Walmart on 9/20/15. Defacto minimum wage in town is still $17 an hour. Photo by James Ulvog. — Sign outside Williston Walmart on 9/20/15. That is the starting rate. Defacto minimum wage in town still looks to be $17 an hour. Photo by James Ulvog.

I wish we had news this terrible in Southern California.

9/23 – Williston Herald – ‘Looking for work? Job fair boasts 400 job openings in sold-out show’ (paper edition so no link) – Two day job fair has 400 jobs or more. There are a dozen companies on the waiting list to get a table at the job fair.

Continue reading “A job slump in Williston would be a boom time in California.”

To sort through the question of how to share economic and health progress with everyone, check out a book from the winner of this year’s Nobel award in economics

Cover of Prof. Deaton's book, used under fair use, courtesy of Amazon.com — Cover of Prof. Deaton’s book, used under fair use for this review, courtesy of Amazon.com

Why have we seen such dramatic improvement in average wealth and average life expectancy everywhere in the last 100 or 200 years? What has led to a radical reduction in the number of people living in dirt-eating poverty in the last 50 years?

Over the last few years I have focused a lot of my reading on economics and history trying to figure out the answers to those questions. Why?

If we figure out the answer to those questions we can continue in the same direction. If we sort out how we got here, we can share that strategy with those who have not shared in the progress. If you want a different phrasing, we can radically narrow economic inequality within countries and between countries if we can answer those questions. We can help get even more people out of dirt-eating poverty.

(Cross posted from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.) Continue reading “To sort through the question of how to share economic and health progress with everyone, check out a book from the winner of this year’s Nobel award in economics”

Trial date for Keith Graves still set for October 19

Just checked the federal PACER system.

Trial date is still 10/19/15 for Keith Graves. No comments on PACER since the pretrial conference on 9/28.

One odd thing is there are no orders to prison officials to transport two of the allegedly trafficked women to court. When the trial was set for 7/13, there were orders issued about 30 days before the trial instructing officials to transport the two women. There are no such orders this time. Perhaps they have been released from custody.

There is an order on 9/15 to transport Mr. Graves to court.

So, looks like the trial will start a week from Monday.

I expect another continuance or a last-minute plea deal. With my limited knowledge of court procedures, I cannot imagine how Mr. Graves could possibly be ready to present a coherent defense on 10/19.

Update 10/14/15 – PACER system shows two orders issued by a judge yesterday, October 13. The first is an order for the jail officials to transfer Mr. Graves to court for the trial. The second is for another jail to transfer a named woman to court for testimony on October 22 and 23. Her name corresponds to the initials of the person mentioned in count six of the indictment. She was allegedly trafficked from about May 2014 to about July 2014.

My brief blogging break is over

Sunset over San Diego, 10/9/15, photo by James Ulvog.

I have not been posting much lately, as you likely noticed.

Took a week of vacation for our fourth visit to North Dakota. (Still have lots of posts to write from the trip.) Worked a week in the office on several deadlines. Then took another week of vacation in San Diego. Considering the time it takes to get ready for vacation, I have not had much time for blogging for about four weeks now.

San Diego skyline from Coronado landing, 10/4/15, out-of-focus photo by James Ulvog.

In addition, I’ve been on a fairly stringent news diet for three weeks. Not a fast, just a diet. That has also been quite refreshing. I am still quite aware the world is falling apart even through I don’t know much of the current details.

I’m back in the office now so can get back into my routine. Plan to resume blogging at my regular pace.

So, stay tuned!

Oil field housing in North Dakota is in another transition. Oh, every transition is a frightening crisis.

What do you see? I see gasoline so you and I can drive to the grocery store to get dinner. Photo by James Ulvog.

While in Williston a week ago, I saw massive amounts of housing under construction and a lot that had been completed since my last trip there in February 2015. The amount of apartments and houses that have been built in the last two years is staggering.

A lot of new shopping is online too. I walked through the new Menards and Sportsman’s Warehouse. Both are huge, well stocked, and seem to have prices that aren’t ridiculous compared to Southern California. Both stores had crowded parking lots every time we drove by.

Huge, new Sportsmans' Warehouse store in WIlliston. Huge amount of apartments under construction behind the store. Photo by James Ulvog. — Huge, new Sportsman’s Warehouse store in Williston. Large number of apartment buildings are under construction behind the store. Photo by James Ulvog.

Sure do wish the sporting good stores in SoCal had the wide selection of guns along with the several-hundred dollar lower prices I saw at the Sportsman’s Warehouse. Wish there was as good a selection of ammo on the shelves here.

Read a few articles while in Williston on the long-expected transition from temporary housing to permanent housing.

Continue reading “Oil field housing in North Dakota is in another transition. Oh, every transition is a frightening crisis.”

Keith Graves trial still set for October 19

Keith Graves is still headed towards starting his trial on October 19th. He faces 11 federal charges, which includes allegations of trafficking seven different women, possession of a controlled substance, and distribution of methamphetamines.

On September 22nd, Keith Graves standby counsel requested the trial be delayed. Reason for the requested continuance is the standby counsel was scheduled to argue a case in front of the 8th circuit Court of Appeals on the scheduled first day of the trial. The court denied the request on September 25 stating the judge had been advised by the capital Appeals Court that the hearing had been postponed.

Continue reading “Keith Graves trial still set for October 19”