Other stuff – Page 19 – Outrun Change

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”

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!

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.

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Which is more important to you? Actual people or big animals?

Where do you see more value in the following pictures? Which is more important? Both of the following photos courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com.

Actions have consequences. What seems like a good policy often causes more of the harm you wanted to prevent.

If you want to stop big game hunting, the unintended consequences include increasing the amount of farmers’ crops that get gobbled up by elephants and increasing the amount of ranchers’ livestock that gets gobbled up by lions. Villagers will be poorer.

I have previously discussed this issue: If you want to increase the number of large animals like elephants and rhinos, allow them to be privately owned and hunted.

Two years ago Botswana banned trophy hunting of big game animals. Since then the number of conflicts between big animals and humans has soared.

There are huge numbers of large animals in Botswana, which previously were managed as a public resource, with hunting intentionally managed and much of the fees shared with local villages.

The New York Times provides the details on 9/12: A Hunting Ban Saps a Village’s Livelihood. The NYT of all places. It is amazing to me that their editors even allowed the story to run.

One quoted person said he has lost 30 goats since the hunting ban went into effect, elephants have destroyed his maize and sorghum fields, his family no longer gets some of the big game meat the trophy hunters used to leave behind, and falling income for the village from hunting fees have ended his mother’s $200 a year pension. He and his family have suffered as a direct result of the ban.

Continue reading “Which is more important to you? Actual people or big animals?”

Bald eagle in the wild

Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com. I'm nowhere near a good enough photograph to get a shot like that. — Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com. I’m nowhere near a good enough photograph to get a shot like that.

During my trip to Williston last week, I saw my first bald eagle in the wild. Awesome! Our one week vacation is why I’ve not been posting much. Have lots of posts planned and a few hundred new photos.

We were driving on a road about 13 miles north and 8 miles west of Williston taking pictures of wells and abandoned farm houses (yes, now that you mention it, I do in fact have some weird pastimes while on vacation).

I was surprised when a large bird took flight about 20 or 30 feet off the side of the road about 30 or 40 feet ahead of us. As it flew away to our front I realized how big it was and as it turned the white tail feathers and a white head showed.

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Exact count of the number of trees on the planet was only off by a factor of 8

Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

In need of a hearty laugh? Consider this:

9/4 – Los Angeles Times – We finally know how many trees there are in the world – Until this week, scientists knew there were 400.25 billion trees on the earth. That level of precision tells us the scientists knew to within one-hundredth of one percent how many trees exist. They are confident of their count plus or minus one tree out of every 40,000.

Except they were wrong.

New analysis with much more detailed technology allows calculation that there are 3.04 trillion trees. That would be 3,040 billion. Not 400B, but 3,040B.

Continue reading “Exact count of the number of trees on the planet was only off by a factor of 8”

The downside of government services. Postal delivery slowing. Hyperinflation.

Mail delivery slowing down in the U.S.

Inflation accelerating in Venezuela. (Cross-posted from my other blog, Attestation Update.)

Slowing mail delivery is not just in your imagination….

8/26 – Washington Post – Post Office can’t even meet its own lower standards as late mail soars – The Post Office reduced its goals for delivery time on first class mail. Now an internal report shows a 50% jump in late delivery during 2015 even with the more lax standard. Continue reading “The downside of government services. Postal delivery slowing. Hyperinflation.”

The dark side of life…wage theft…nuclear proliferation

Yet one more illustration of why regulatory agencies need to be fully staffed – employers who rip off their employees…

A person who owns 15 hotels in North Dakota agreed to settle a federal lawsuit claiming he cheated at least 192 employees out of overtime pay and didn’t pay some of them a minimum wage. He apparently is not hurting for money since he paid up $122,871 in back wages and $61,436 in penalties a mere four days after the judgment was issued.

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Second federal agent pleads guilty to stealing bitcoins from Silk Road

Two federal law enforcement officers have now entered guilty pleas to charges they stole bitcoins from the Silk Road site while they were part of the investigation of the site.

Other articles on Silk Road and the we-don’t-have-to-say-allegedly corrupt federal agents can be seen on the tag worlds far away I will never visit.

The Department of Justice announced the second agent’s plea on August 31: Former Secret Service Agent Pleads Guilty To Money Laundering And Obstruction.

DoJ said the agent pled guilty to the two felony charges brought against him: Continue reading “Second federal agent pleads guilty to stealing bitcoins from Silk Road”

Follow up on Zimbabwe hyperinflation – Government introduces coins for making change

ten trillion Zimbabwe dollars. Not the largest currency in circulation, but close. — Ten trillion Zimbabwe dollars. Not the largest currency in circulation, but close. Government is withdrawing them at rate of Zim$250T to US$1.

When I described This is what hyperinflation looks like, I mentioned the Zimbabwe government was withdrawing all currency from circulation. They were exchanging 250 trillion Zimbabwe paper dollars for one US dollar.

The $10 trillion bill, pictured above is worth US$0.04.

For many years US dollars and South African Rands have been used as the de facto currency. The two Rand coin is worth about $.16 so the one and two Rand coins are used for making change.

With the Rand depreciating after having been stable for a long time, there is need for another way to make change.

Continue reading “Follow up on Zimbabwe hyperinflation – Government introduces coins for making change”

8/15 Update – Status of federal charges against Keith Graves

Update: Federal trial on 11 counts is underway in October 2015. Links to all posts covering the federal trial are at this post.

A federal grand jury has returned a third superseded indictment against Keith Graves. As you recall, he has been charged with multiple counts of human trafficking in federal court. He is representing himself as he prepares for his trial which is still scheduled to start October 19, 2015.

The third update to the indictment adds two new items: an 11th count for trafficking another person and a forfeiture allegation.

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Biased, slanted, propagandistic updates on Central African Republic

Central African Republic outline inset into a map of Africa over a white background — Central African Republic. Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Media coverage of the tragedy in Central African Republic is taking on a slanted, agenda-laded bias worthy of American media in a U.S. presidential race.

(I have been sitting on this post for months. Think it is time to post.)

Shouldn’t be necessary, but I suppose it is necessary to say I denounce the destruction of religious houses of worship, especially when such facilities are targeted because they are houses of worship. I also denounce violence targeted against people because of the way they worship.

Let me know if you think the following articles are talking about the same country.

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Mali update – 8/11

Hasn’t been a lot of news from Mali lately, or at least that I’ve seen. Probably just a reflection on my poor ability to pay attention.

Well, there was news last week.

Islamic extremists (that’s the description in the AP article) attacked a hotel in Sevare, taking hostages and battling government troops. A Malian special operations team flew in from Bamako to join the fight and retook the hotel. The rebels held the hotel for about 24 hours.

Continue reading “Mali update – 8/11”