Pharoaonic Sun Temple Found

Today, I came across this article on Foxnews.com, Pharoanic Sun Temple Found. This article interests me because I studied history for my undergraduate work at GW. I find it absolutely fascinating that this temple, theorized to be that of King Ramses II, was discovered in what is the old Heliopolis. This is simply an amazing discovery in Cairo, and I hope archeologists are able to gather a lot of information from this sun temple so we can have a better understanding of ancient Egyptian mythology and history. Discoveries like these make me wonder why I'm not in the business so I can discover stuff like this, it definitely would be a lot of fun I would think.

Accounting Homework Completed

This evening I have completed the rest of my accounting homework that is due tomorrow evening in class. I have also completed the last of the reading for th first half of the class. As I stated in my prior post, the midterm examination is being distributed tomorrow in class and I will have two weeks to complete it. I'm confident that I will be able to complete it without any difficulty.

The reading wasn't too bad this time around. I was required to read chapters nine and ten in the text. Chapter nine deals with the income statement and the statement of cash flows and chapter ten deals with corporate governance, explanatory notes, and other disclosures. It made for some interesting reading and this time around, I actually understood a good chunk of chapter ten, not as much of chapter nine though as I would've liked. After class tomorrow night, however, I should understand the material without any difficulty.

As for the midterm, I hate taking exams, I have never liked them. This and papers are the two things that I haven't missed since I have been finished with my undergraduate degree, but I suppose it's part of the whole package. I'm sure I have nothing to worry about, I have done pretty well on all the exams I have had in the program to date. Hopefully, this one will be no different.

Midterm Spring 2006

Tuesday will mark the midway point of the Spring 2006 semester. In accounting, we will conclude the first half of the class by finishing our final topics in financial accounting. On Tuesday evening we will also receive the midterm exam via Blackboard. I must say, I'm rather pleased with my progress this semester. At the beginning of the semester, I was concerned with my ability to master this material as I found it confusing in the very beginning.

The material is still complex, and at times, difficult to understand, but I feel I'm getting a better grasp of the material. Fortunately for me, the midterm exam is open book open notes, and I have two weeks from Tuesday to complete the exam. We will not have class on Tuesday, the 7th, for spring break for the university.

My progress thusfar:
FASB Concept #2 Paper - 50 points out of 50
Homework #1 - 46 points out of 50
Internet Assignment #1 - 50 points out of 50

Outstanding grades:
Internet Assignment #2 - 50 points possible

On Tuesday, I have another set of accounting problems due, and we are also going over chapters eight and nine for discussion. Tomorrow I will need to get my problems completed and start with the reading for this week's class. I'm confident that I will be able to get everything accomplished well in advance of the class date.

The second half of the semester we will be studying managerial accounting. There will be another internet assignment due, as well as a response to a case study, and a response to a book entitled "The Goal." I will also need to complete a group project, a written assignment of 7-9 pages, along with a presentation. There will also be an additional examination.

If my performance in the first half of the class is any indication, I do not foresee too many difficulties the rest of the semester.

Summer 2006 Class Offerings

I know it's a little early to be discussing Summer classes, but I received an email from UMW indicating that enrollment for Summer classes begins on March 10. There are four classes being offered this summer that I need to take, three of which meet on Monday, the fourth on Thursday.

MBUS 502 - Financial Decision-Making for Managers:This course focuses on financial decision making in business. Emphasis is placed on the application of financial data to a wide range of management decisions designed to develop a conceptual and analytical understanding of financial management. Topics include, financial analysis, financial planning, financial investments and capital markets, security valuation techniques, working capital management fundamentals, and capital budgeting techniques.

MBUS 505 Quantitative Methods:Covers the concepts and processes used in managing, scheduling, planning and controlling. Topics include decision trees and decison modeling, statistical forecasting methodologies, transportation/assignment problems in linear programming, integer linear programming, network and queuing theory, PERT/CPM, SPC< business simulations, and Markov processes. Emphasis throughout the course on service operations.

MBUS 509 Information Technology for Managers:Students explore the various uses of information technology in private and public organizations in order to enhance business efficiency and market advantage. Particular attention is paid to the role of the information technology manager in today's work environment.

MBUS 516 Project Management:This course provides a comprehensive overview of project management. The course addresses the framework, culture, principles, and the basic techniques of project management. The course reviews the general stages of a project and describes how the stages interrelate. Basic tools of project management, such as work breakdown structure, scheduling, earned value analysis, and risk management, are introduced and used in student assignments. The elements of project management critical to the success of a project also are identified and explained.

The principles and tools are integrated and clarified through case studies from a variety of organizational settings and through creation of project management plans developed by students working in teams.

I'm seriously considering financial decision making for managers since accounting has been challenging and I figure I should get it done and over with. I have plenty of time to decide though.

Accounting Project Finished

Thank goodness! I have completed yet another accounting project. I decided to come over here to the library on the main campus of Mary Washington to work on it so I wouldn't be distracted. It would appear that it worked for this evening. This means I'll have all day tomorrow just to chill since I have completed my reading for this week's class. YIPPEE!!!!!! The paper only needed to be 3-5 pages in length and I was required to write about the type of industry that Home Depot competes within. I managed to write 4 pages. Not too bad. Hopefully I'll be able to get a good grade on it.

Team Slovakia Drops Team USA 2-1

Today I managed to catch the Team USA - Team Slovakia prelminary round game this afternoon. I must say, it was a very good game, a quick game, with the two teams being pretty evenly matched. After the first period the game was scoreless, with only one penalty assessed to Team USA, a bench minor, for too many men on the ice. In the second both teams exchanged power play tallies, one coming from Marian Hossa of Team Slovakia, and the other from Brian Rolston for Team USA. Early in the third, the Slovaks scored, what proved to be the game winner, off the stick of one of my favorite players, Peter Bondra. Now, I wouldn't have minded that so much if Team USA managed to at least tie the game. With the loss today, it makes things quite difficult for Team USA to advance to the medal round. In order to control their own destiny, they need to beat the Swedes tomorrow evening, and the Russians on Tuesday, if they don't do that, they need to hope for at least a tie, and that the Latvians or Kazaks don't put up good efforts in their last two games.

I would love to see Team USA make it to the medal round, but nothing is a given in this tournament, as the Canadians were upset as well today by a Swiss team that had no business beating them. I'm hoping for a much better effort by Team USA tomorrow against Sweden.

Weekend Accounting Project

Last weekend I worked on one of my accounting projects, it was a paper on a prediction of the outlook of the economy by looking at several economic indicators. This weekend, I have another paper that I have to write that is due on Tuesday. The assignment, after reviewing a powerpoint presentation, is to write a 3-5 page paper on the type of industry that Home Depot operates in. I also need to write about the key dynamics of the hardware store industry. I have all day tomorrow and Monday to put together this paper. It will involve some research, hopefully not too much, and time to compose the paper. I have been thinking that I should go ahead and perhaps go to Mary Washington's main campus tomorrow or Monday and sit in the library and work on the paper until I get it finished this way I can be free of any distractions here at the house. I did that for my organization theory and design group project and found it a good and productive use of my time. Perhaps I'll go over there before the Team USA olympic hockey game that airs at 5pm eastern time. Perhaps if I can get over there right after lunch and get cracking, I can have the paper done and have all day Monday just to chill. I suppose I shall see tomorrow morning when I wake up.

Accounting Class Update

Last night I had accounting class. Boy, did it seem to drag more so than usual last night. We took a good deal of classtime discussing the present and future value of money on bonds and annuities. It can definitely be confusing at times. I also turned in Internet Assignment Number 1. I ended up putting together four pages of content for this assignment and I was relatively happy with the product, unlike my last paper, even though I got an A on it. Last night I also got back my grade on homework number one that I turned in last week. I got 46 out of 50 points. Not too bad seeing on how I thought I was going to do much worse than that. Another internet assignment is due on Tuesday, so I'll be spending a good amount of time of my weekend working on that. Hopefully I will be able to make some time for some US Men's Olympic Hockey.

Hybrid Vehicles and HOV Lanes

In today’s Washington Post, they printed this article: “Hybrid Perks May Become Problems.” This article does a fantastic job of informing us of the perks of purchasing hybrid vehicles. One of those perks is the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) waiving the HOV occupancy restriction for those who drive these vehicles, in addition to State and Federal income tax breaks. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for trying to save the environment, and getting more and more vehicles out there that are more environmentally friendly, but there reaches a point where the perks are doing more harm than good.

I know from personal experience driving on the HOV lanes on Interstate 95/395, where the HOV restriction is HOV-3, that there are a lot of hybrid vehicles taking advantage of this perk. I have also noticed, in the three years the perk has been in place, a gradual increase of the number of hybrid vehicles on the road. As a matter of fact, here in the Commonwealth, we have one of the, if not the highest average sales of hybrid vehicles in the nation. Perks are originally offered to encourage people to purchase something or to encourage specific behavior. However, when does a perk become a bad thing? This article does a good job of stating that for us. When there are so many drivers of hybrid vehicles on the HOV with only ONE person in the vehicle, it does end up causing a negative effect because there ends up not being a benefit to the environment. As a matter of fact, one day, while driving on the HOV, I noticed, for a stretch of about ten miles, give or take, every car that passed me was a hybrid. In my mind this is ridiculous especially here in northern VA. These vehicles are selling like hotcakes specifically because of this perk and it’s causing the HOV lanes to be almost nearly as congested as the regular lanes. This in itself is counterproductive to the efforts of those drivers who make a concerted effort to carpool in order to decrease the number of vehicles on the road.

When I saw this article, specifically this one section where the State Legislature is considering a bill to extend the waiver, it irked me. It irked me because I emailed our new governor, Tim Kaine, about this exact issue last weekend, asking him to see about removing the waiver as it was causing more harm than good. The article also states that Governor Kaine is for this particular piece of legislation. Well, it appears to me, that another email is in order for the governor. I will post the text of that email here later on. This is something that can’t, and should not, be allowed to continue. Enforce HOV restrictions on all.

Virginia Senate Passes Smoking Ban

Yesterday the VA Senate passed a bill and sent to the House of Delegates a bill banning smoking inside all public places including restaurants and bars. You can read the article in the Washington Post here. When I caught news of this I was just a bit surprised. Why would the Commonwealth of Virginia, home of Phillip Morris pass such a ban? Tobacco has been such a big part of Virginia’s history. It was the crop that put the colony of Jamestown, and eventually Virginia on the map as far as England was concerned. Big tobacco has been the name of the game here in Virginia, and there are still a considerable number of tobacco farmers here in the State. Needless to say this is a necessary step, and I can only hope the House Delegates passes a similar bill so this can become law here.

This is a similar bill to others that have been passed in the Washington metropolitan area. Not too long ago, the Washington, DC City Council passed a similar bill in their committee to ban smoking in restaurants and bars. In Montgomery County, MD, a ban already exists. About two years ago, I went to a bar in Bethesda with a couple of friends, and I was amazed at how nice it was to go inside a bar, have a beer and not feel like I was suffocating from second hand smoke from smokers.

As a non-smoker, I loathe going into bars with friends and smelling the smoke. Second-hand smoke for some reason gives me headaches. This is more of an issue for me when I got shooting pool with my buddies. Billiard halls are the worst because it seems to be that everyone smokes there.

Now, I’m not against people smoking by any stretch of the imagination, if people wish to do something bad for their health like smoking, that’s their business, but then again, I shouldn’t have to put up with it in a public place, such as a restaurant or bar. I’m so glad that some of our State’s legislators have finally decided to do something that’s right. Bravo. I’m just hoping it survives the House of Delegates and Governor Kaine, if it makes it that far, signs it into law.

Yes, It's That Day....

Today is just that day, the dark day known as Valentine's Day. David said it right in his post here. In all fairness, today hasn't been all that bad. I haven't really thought about it very much. It seems to get better each and every year. Perhaps it's because I'm more comfortable and happy with who I am these days than in years past. But I still can't help but make fun of today, what I like to refer to as National Hallmark and Chocolate Day. However, that being said, I would like to post some anti-valentines type of stuff today. I found this anti-valentines day playlist on washingtonpost.com today. Be sure to go and vote for your favorite song. For the record, I did vote for Alanis Morissette's song "You Oughta Know." There's nothing like good ole revenge, I guess. =) I also found this article on foxnews.com "Hating Valentine's Day" which was worth the read. I especially liked the section about kickboxing, it brought a chuckle out of me just thinking of it and how much I would actually enjoy it!!! Enjoy, folks... The day will be over soon enough and life will return to normal. (Like it wasn't any other normal day to begin with.)

Interesting Article

This morning, while catching up on the news on washingtonpost.com, I cam across this article, Spotsylvania Deputies Receive Sex Services in Prostitution Cases. A couple of things. First, I have only lived in Spotsylvania County for a year and some change, and I am unfamiliar with the fact that there were so many massage parlors in the county. Secondly, why are sheriff's deputies engaging in sexual activity in order to arrest prostitutes? I find it curious indeed that our local sheriff condones his deputies breaking the law in order to arrest people. Oh, and only unmarried detectives are involved in this sort of sting operation? Granted, that makes sense, but COME ON. No other law enforcement agency in the country uses tactics such as these, and for the very reason that it's breaking the law. Also, I find it very difficult to believe that our elected supervisors had no knowledge of these tactics. This article just hit the "Gee that's interesting" scale for the day. WOW, another day, another thing that simply amazes me.

MBA Progress

I haven't posted anything about my progress on my MBA in awhile. Last semester I took Statistics for Managers, an undergraduate pre-requisite class, and one of my MBA core courses, Organization Theory and Design. My organization theory and design class met for the first seven weeks of the fall semester, from the end of August until the middle of October. To be perfectly honest, I was worried about both classes. As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about at all. I got an A in both classes. I was very happy at the end of the semester. Getting an A in Organization Theory and Design was particularly fulfilling, as it was my first graduate level class. It was nice to get an A in statistics as well.

This semester, I'm taking financial and managerial accounting for managers. It is an undergraduate pre-requisite for Financial Decision Making for Managers. The first part of the semester we are covering financial accounting, and then starting the second weekend of March we'll be covering managerial accounting. This class is going to require a lot of work from me. Here are the course requirements:

Applied Financial and Managerial Accounting Assignments (150 points): A minimum of an additional 24 hours of instruction is Web-based. Accordingly, there are three (3) Internet lectures and assignments of about 8 hours each.

Homework (200 points) Homework is assigned in class. The homework consists primarily of problems from the covered material in the text. The homework is due the following week and will be collected in class. All handed in work, including the homework, should be done using word and/or excel. (If you are unable to attend class, you must email the homework before class.)

Team Project (100 points): Students will be paired up to do an financial analysis on a company of their choice. The teams will make a brief 10-15 minute presentation to the class on the results of their analysis and hand in a 7-10 page write up of the analysis.

Writing Projects (150 points): Each student shall complete three (3) writing assignment, as follows.
A three to five page paper on the FASB Concept statement 2.
A three to five page write up of the Harvard Case: Bausch & Lomb
A four to six page response to "The Goal" Novel.

All written assignments must be in proper APA format, typed, double-spaced, using 12 font. Hardcopies are to be handed in on dates due.

First Exam (200 points): There will be a midterm exam to be completed no later than the scheduled midterm exam day. It will be made available on-line.

Final Exam (200 points): There will be a final exam to be compoleted no later than the scheduled final exam day. It will be made available on-line.

I have already turned in the paper responding to FASB Concept #2. I received the grade this past Tuesday in class. I got 50 out of 50 points on the paper. So far so good.

Jaromir Jagr Nets 40th Goal....

Last night while I was enjoying the Caps game at MCI Center, Jaromir Jagr netted his 40th goal of the year in the second half of a home-and-home series with the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Center in Toronto. Going into the Olympic break, Jagr has 40 goals and 48 assists for 88 points in 58 games played. Let's compare this with the two and a half seasons that Jagr was with the Caps. In the 2001-2002 campaign, Jagr's first with the Caps, in 69 games, Jagr tallied 31 goals and 48 assists for 79 points. In 2002-2003, the last year the Caps made the playoffs, Jagr tallied 36 goals and 41 assists for 77 points in 75 games. In the 2003-2004 season, prior to being traded to the Rangers, Jagr, in 46 games, tallied 16 goals and 29 assists for 45 points. However, after being traded to the Rangers, in 31 games, he tallied 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points, for a grand total of 74 points for the campaign. So, in 190 games with the Caps, Jagr tallied 201 points, composing of 83 goals and 118 assists.

In comparison, in only 89 games with the Rangers, Jagr has tallied 56 goals and 62 assists for 118 points. So with 101 less games, Jagr has tallied nearly 60% of the point production he did while with the Capitals. Now, I realize, that earlier in the season, Jagr went on the record to state that he had pretty much given up while playing with the Capitals. I'm sorry, that isn't an excuse as far as I'm concerned. When you're making 11 million dollars (salary pre-CBA rollback), you don't give up, and you play to the best of your abilities. The Caps did everything they could to keep Jagr happy before he was traded to the Rangers. They signed Robert Lang, a fellow Czech to the team, and acquired Michael Nylander, another European, to complement Jagr. None of this seemed to work to keep Jagr happy, nor did it have an effect on increasing his performance.

All of a sudden, in New York, the Rangers sign both Michael Nylander and Marty Straka, and with the emergence of Petr Prucha, another Czech, Jagr has been revitalized. Could this be because of the new rules eliminating much of the clutching and grabbing he was accustomed to receiving while in a Caps sweater, or is it because of his new linemates. Or maybe it's something much simpler, maybe he is actually in a venue where he wants to play. Granted, if you play on any other sports team in Washington not named the Redskins, you are not the focus of attention, in particular, when it comes to hockey. Perhaps in the Big Apple, Jagr is getting the attentnion he desperately craves. To me, however, you should be able to succeed no matter where you're employed, and no matter the circumstances.

Sure this may be sour grapes, and I shouldn't beat a dead horse here, but, Jagr made a mockery of our ownership group here in Washington and of our team by publicly stating he quit, and in sports, to me, that is unacceptable just to abandon your team like that simply because you don't like where you're playing.

Caps Lose but GW Wins

So my snowy Saturday has come to an end with me watching Sportscenter after the close to three hour drive home this evening from the Caps game due to the roads. I felt the Caps did not put forth a very good effort this evening. I was most disappointed with the effort as I was sitting in the lower levels. The Caps ended up losing 6-3 to the Pens. The game wasn't as close as the score indicated. The Pens seemed to come out and played with a passion. Hopefully the last meeting between these two teams next month will turn out to be a victory for the Caps at MCI Center.

However, the day wasn't a complete loss for me sportswise. At least GW was able to pull out the win against St. Joe's today. I was really concerned with the game, GW was down by 8 after the first half, but then, they came out in the second and went on a 20-0 run. I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. However, that 20-0 run wasn't enough to allow GW to put the game away easily. They only ended up winning by 2, 64-62, but a win is a win, and the Colonials protected their national ranking, and now have the best start in university history at 20-1.

#8 GW vs St. Joe's Today

So today, before I have to take my father to Dulles airport for his trip to Stutgart, I get a little bit of a treat. My eighth ranked Colonials of GW are taking on St. Joe's and the game is going to be on the Deuce. I can't begin to say how impressed I am that GW is ranked in the top 10 in both the AP and Coaches poll. They have been rolling over their competition in the Atlantic 10 conference, they are the only team in the conference with less than three losses at zero. Now granted, they have not beaten a team in the current top 25 this season. They did lose to North Carolina State back in December and that is their only loss of the season. I'm sure GW will have no problems taking care of St. Joe's today. Hail to the buff and blue!

Ex-FEMA Chief Blames DHS For Katrina Response

One of the big stories here in Washington today, is the testimony of Michael Brown, the former administrator of the Federal Emergency Response Agency (FEMA). It is well known that Brown resigned from his post at DHS in the first few days during the response to Hurricane Katrina. Upon arriving at home this evening, I turned the tv to CSPAN, and what do I find, but the Senate's Homeland Security and Government Reform Committee's hearing on the response to Hurricane Katrina and Michael Brown was testifying before the committee. I watched about 15-20 minutes of the testimony before I turned it off. DHS and the White House have made Brown the scapegoat for their failures during the response effort. Brown blames DHS and the White House for ignoring his warnings about the hurricane. Who should Congress and us as citizens believe?

During Brown's testimony, he specifically mentioned the fact that DHS is more concerned with responding and preventing terrorist attacks and that FEMA is the stepchild of DHS. I think there very well may be some truth to this statement. Being a homeland security contractor, I have noticed a focus responding to terrorist attacks. This is understandable considering the September 11th attacks. However, there is something to be said of putting all your eggs into one basket. Even on DHS' website, their mission statement is: "We will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats and hazards to the nation. We will ensure safe and secure borders, welcome lawful immigrants and visitors, and promote the free-flow of commerce."

Nowhere in this mission statement does it state anything about natural disasters such as hurricanes, although, I suppose you could infer that responding to hazards could be loosely interpreted natural disasters. In my opinion, I don't think I can infer that their mission statement includes natural disasters. But if you look a little deeper on DHS' website, you can see their strategic goals. One of their strategic goals is response. This includes: "Lead, manage and coordinate the national response to acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies." This is the only section that refers to natural disasters.

You would think that with FEMA being absorbed into DHS, courtesy of the Homeland Security Act, in 2001, that one of DHS' missions would be to lead the unified national dffort to respond to natural disasters that occur within our borders. To me, DHS should take more of a concerted effort to put as much effort into preventing and responding to terrorism into our response to natural disasters.

I see this as growing pains for a new government agency. So many government organizations were forced to merge into one larger organization, organizations that, in the past, had a very limited history in working together to achieve a similar goal. This integration is obviously going to take time, and it was clearly on display for us during Katrina.

In order to be effective, DHS needs to ensure that they are prepared in the future to respond to natural disasters so the effort that was put forth during Katrina is not repeated. This means, DHS should concentrate just as much on natural disaster response as they do to preparing for responses to acts of terrorism.

Caps vs Penguins Tomorrow Night!

Tomorrow the Caps take on the Penguins of Pittsburgh at MCI Center in Washington. This will be the Pens first visit to Washington this season. I am looking forward to seeing Sidney Crosby play in person to see all the hype that has been generating around him for the past year. From what I can tell, the game is close to, if not, sold out tomorrow night. Good thing I'm a season ticket holder so I don't have to worry about this sort of thing. Because I'm a season ticket holder, I have taken advantage of a unique perk of being able to upgrade my tickets to the lower level for two games free of charge. Back in December, I decided I wanted to sit in the lower bowl for this game tomorrow night. Tomorrow I will have the opportunity to see the game up close as I will be sitting in Section 101 Row P, that is center ice closer to the side of the ice the Caps shoot twice. I hope it will be a great game tomorrow night, it has been in the past against the Pens. Hopefully the snowstorm we're supposed to get tomorrow won't cancel the game nor keep me from making the trip to Washington to attend. LET'S GO CAPS!

Domestic Spying

Domestic spying isn't anything new. Of course, it is being made a big deal of in the news since shortly before the President's State of the Union Address last week. The media, of course, had made a big deal about it, that's what they do. However, what NSA and the President has authorized is nothing new. The NSA has been doing this sort of work since their inception. However, what is at stake is if the President can authorize monitoring/spying on citizens international calls without a warrant. Should the President be allowed to act without a warrant? I truly believe the president should secure a warrant before eavesdropping on Americans' international calls. This is a fundamental privacy issue. There are many citizens that have normal dealings in the international arena and this sets a bad precedent.

I heard, flipping through the channels, on Foxnews the other day, that Republicans in the Senate, I believe, are ok with what the president is doing, they just want oversight over this particular issue. To me, this is pretty cut and dry. Should Congress allow the President the authority to eavesdrop without a warrant? My answer to that question is no. If President Bush is able to keep going on his current path, what is there to stop him from beginning this with just regular run of the mill calls between friends, spouses, colleagues? It sets a bad precedent, and plain and simple, it's a violation of presidential power, and of people's privacy.