Question:

Hello Everyone, what software would you recommend for public practice in Canada? Trend I have seen currently that accountants are using QuickBooks and previously most of them were using Caseware. I have just started and currently have 18 clients. It will be a full time business. Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks

Response:

Hello Everyone, what software would you recommend for public practice in Canada? Trend I have seen currently that accountants are using QuickBooks and previously most of them were using Caseware. I have just started and currently have 18 clients. It will be a full time business. Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks

CaseWare is one of the best.  Call them at 416-867-9504 and ask for the pitch. If you decide that CaseWare is the tool for you and want to take full advantage of their report writer, drop me a line. — Brandon Sommerville CaseView Solutions www.caseviewsolutions.com Taking care of your CaseView needs

Response:

Hello Everyone, what software would you recommend for public practice in Canada? Trend I have seen currently that accountants are using QuickBooks and previously most of them were using Caseware. I have just started and currently have 18 clients. It will be a full time business. Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks

The question that I would ask is what do you want to use the software for. It sounds as if you wish to have a single "package" that you can use for all of your clients. This may be ok if all you have to offer is a "bookkeeping service". On the other hand, if you really want to help your clients grow (i.e. pursue their visions and achieve their dreams) and unless all your clients are competitors (i.e. in the same/identical vertical market), then one size (software package) usually does not fit all. The danger is that you effectively say to your clients "here is the solution, what’s your problem?". Ideally, you become versatile in a number of applications and provide your clients with the best solution that specifically meets their needs or , alternatively, find yourself some software tools/applications that you can customize or configure yourself – these range from STEP FORWARD to SAP, the internet is filled with them.

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Question:

Or, a gourmet but not a gourmand. Congratulations on your continuing success with maintenance. Carol Schmidt

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – i’ve developed a little mantra/slogan for my wol: you can’t be a glutton anymore, but you can be an epicure

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I like your slogan! Congratulations on your successful maintenance. You are an inspiration, and I always enjoy hearing from our resident schismatic. Connie 282/201/140 "No more ugly duckling … I give myself permission to become a swan." – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – i’ve developed a little mantra/slogan for my wol: you can’t be a glutton anymore, but you can be an epicure how’s it sound? anyway…  another monthly weigh in.  down 0.4 pounds to 170.0.  i have been within 2% of this exact weight for almost a year, and under goal for over a year, and i guess the (shared three ways) civilian desserts last week didn’t kill me. i tried something different this morning…  it was one of those rare (1% since i started scooting) mornings where it was raining on a day i was going to work.  so instead of just taking the subway and hoping for a break in the clouds so i could walk home, i walked the route that the first subway would have taken to the second subway.  accounting for the initial waiting time and the labyrinthian transfer at union square, it only took an extra five minutes, and i got a quick 2 points in while getting only marginally wet — the snowboard jacket makes a great rain coat! so yup…  that’s what maintenance is like for me.  ya gotta keep in there hitting, but if you do it keeps working! —andy the schismatic

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Great slogan, Andy. Congratulations on your success! You’re definitely an inspiration. Cheers, Petal

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – i’ve developed a little mantra/slogan for my wol: you can’t be a glutton anymore, but you can be an epicure how’s it sound? anyway…  another monthly weigh in.  down 0.4 pounds to 170.0.  i have been within 2% of this exact weight for almost a year, and under goal for over a year, and i guess the (shared three ways) civilian desserts last week didn’t kill me. i tried something different this morning…  it was one of those rare (1% since i started scooting) mornings where it was raining on a day i was going to work.  so instead of just taking the subway and hoping for a break in the clouds so i could walk home, i walked the route that the first subway would have taken to the second subway.  accounting for the initial waiting time and the labyrinthian transfer at union square, it only took an extra five minutes, and i got a quick 2 points in while getting only marginally wet — the snowboard jacket makes a great rain coat! so yup…  that’s what maintenance is like for me.  ya gotta keep in there hitting, but if you do it keeps working! —andy the schismatic

Response:

I like your mantra and congrats on the loss – every little bit is that much more towards your goal. Elaine K – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – i’ve developed a little mantra/slogan for my wol: you can’t be a glutton anymore, but you can be an epicure how’s it sound? anyway…  another monthly weigh in.  down 0.4 pounds to 170.0.  i have been within 2% of this exact weight for almost a year, and under goal for over a year, and i guess the (shared three ways) civilian desserts last week didn’t kill me. i tried something different this morning…  it was one of those rare (1% since i started scooting) mornings where it was raining on a day i was going to work.  so instead of just taking the subway and hoping for a break in the clouds so i could walk home, i walked the route that the first subway would have taken to the second subway.  accounting for the initial waiting time and the labyrinthian transfer at union square, it only took an extra five minutes, and i got a quick 2 points in while getting only marginally wet — the snowboard jacket makes a great rain coat! so yup…  that’s what maintenance is like for me.  ya gotta keep in there hitting, but if you do it keeps working! —andy the schismatic

Response:

i’ve developed a little mantra/slogan for my wol: you can’t be a glutton anymore, but you can be an epicure how’s it sound? anyway…  another monthly weigh in.  down 0.4 pounds to 170.0.  i have been within 2% of this exact weight for almost a year, and under goal for over a year, and i guess the (shared three ways) civilian desserts last week didn’t kill me. i tried something different this morning…  it was one of those rare (1% since i started scooting) mornings where it was raining on a day i was going to work.  so instead of just taking the subway and hoping for a break in the clouds so i could walk home, i walked the route that the first subway would have taken to the second subway.  accounting for the initial waiting time and the labyrinthian transfer at union square, it only took an extra five minutes, and i got a quick 2 points in while getting only marginally wet — the snowboard jacket makes a great rain coat! so yup…  that’s what maintenance is like for me.  ya gotta keep in there hitting, but if you do it keeps working! —andy the schismatic

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Question:

Hi, I was just wondering if accounting is something people should study at univeristy to help them get a job in the stock market?  Is the accounting  a big part of the stock market career?  Thanks for your time. Jake

I vaguely recall a single course or part of a course that taught how to read and interpret a corporation’s reports.  The course gave guidelines for comparing a variety of values and ratios against industry standards.  It would not be necessary to completely understand and practice accounting but it would be good to know how the numbers got into the reports, and what they meant. Al

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Anecdote:  It worked pretty well for Tom Sullivan.  I guess he is worth a few million now. Hi, I was just wondering if accounting is something people should study at univeristy to help them get a job in the stock market?  Is the accounting  a big part of the stock market career?  Thanks for your time. Jake

– *             Ronald Lee Todd M.B.A., C.P.A.                  * *                                                             * *  Retired, but always willing to consider a good job offer.  * *    From the Socialist People’s Republic of Kalifornia,      * *                   Ayn Rand was right                        *

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Hi, I was just wondering if accounting is something people should study at univeristy to help them get a job in the stock market?  Is the accounting  a big part of the stock market career?  Thanks for your time. Jake

Response:

Hi, I was just wondering if accounting is something people should study at univeristy to help them get a job in the stock market?  Is the accounting  a big part of the stock market career?  Thanks for your time. Jake

That depends on you, Jake. If you are a "momentum" trader, accounting is less than useless.  If, on the other hand, you want to know something about the company whose stock you are trading in, accounting is essential. At to getting a job – not a big deal one way or the other. — Jim Hudspeth, CFE, CPA http://home.att.net/~jdhcpa/mainpage.html Washington, USA

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Question:

CPA Vs ACCA Vs CA Vs CGA Greetings         Are  these credentials the same? 1)      ACCA 2)      CPA 3)      CA 4)      CGA IF there are more please let me know?  What are the main differences? If you had a choice to hire a ACCA, CA, CGA or CPA who would u hire and why? Are there advantages or are u better equipped as a CPA as opposed to the others? WHat are your views? Regards

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CPA Vs ACCA Vs CA Vs CGA Greetings         Are  these credentials the same? 1)      ACCA 2)      CPA 3)      CA 4)      CGA

No. IF there are more please let me know?  What are the main differences?

If I gave it some thought I could probably come with another dozen. What differences are important to you? If you had a choice to hire a ACCA, CA, CGA or CPA who would u hire and why?

That depends. What are the requirements of the job? What country is the job in? What is my budget for salaries? Are there advantages or are u better equipped as a CPA as opposed to the others?

Better equipped for what. WHat are your views?

You need to be more complete and more precise in the questions you pose. Regards

easy2000

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If you had a choice to hire a ACCA, CA, CGA or CPA who would u hire and why?

Umm–you probably need to expand your acronyms, but I believe that most of the "non-CPA" titles you listed are also "non-US" titles.  So my first response would be that likely it is best to have the proper license for the country you plan to work in <grin. The "alternative" titles in a US context would normally be CMA (Certified Management Accountant) or CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) in the accounting arena.  However, many of those who hold those titles *also* hold the CPA license (in fact, I believe the group that administers the CMA certificate exempts CPAs from having to sit for part of their exam).  Like it or not, that’s become the "Goodhousekeeping Seal of Approval" for accountants in the US–and it is a requirement for many positions having nothing directly to do with the licensed functions for a CPA. In the tax arena, a competing (of sorts) certification is the EA certificate.  EA stands for enrolled agent and is licensed directly by the IRS.  The EA certificate was initially created for those who do not qualify for automatic ability to represent clients before the IRS under federal law (attorneys and CPAs) and, until recently, the IRS would not grant an EA certificate to anyone that was already a CPA or attorney.  Even there, though, CPAs still tend to be better compensated and the public tends to think of CPA when asked to name a tax expert.   So, in general, if you want to work in accounting or tax in the US and you *can* qualify for the CPA license, it’s probably a good economic move to get it.

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Question:

I heard a couple of reports this morning on the news media that US Airways is starting to get desparate about getting the merger deal done with UA. Seems like US Airways financial situation is getting worse and they may be near bankruptcy!  I alos hear that officals at Pittsburgh Airport and other US Airway hubs are getting nervous about the situation. I wonder if this will push the government along to approve the deal? Wayne

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I heard a couple of reports this morning on the news media that US Airways is starting to get desparate about getting the merger deal done with UA. Seems like US Airways financial situation is getting worse and they may be near bankruptcy!  I alos hear that officals at Pittsburgh Airport and other US Airway hubs are getting nervous about the situation. I wonder if this will push the government along to approve the deal?

I don’t think its gonna get the government to do anything.  I give the merger less than a 50% chance.  The Washington Post isn’t very favorable on the deal; the Chicago Tribune has quoted UAL folks as saying they’re now willing to cut the deal loose if DOJ demands too much in terms of concessions.  They also don’t expect the deal to be done by July or August at the minimum (they had originally hoped for December, then April). Realistically, I don’t know who is worse off.  UAL lost $300 million in the first quarter.  That is a TON of money.  US lost $170 million, however there is speculation that the US folks monkeyed with the accounting features using special write-offs to make the picture look more bleak. Time will tell.

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Personally, I hope not.  I think this merger is anticompetitive and bad for everybody – except Stephen Wolf, who makes his money from golden parachutes when whatever airline he is president of at the moment is acquired by another. If US is to merge, there are other options that fit with their route network and are less anti-competitive. Just my 2 cents worth. Jeff

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I heard a couple of reports this morning on the news media that US Airways is starting to get desparate about getting the merger deal done with UA. Seems like US Airways financial situation is getting worse and they may be near bankruptcy!  I alos hear that officals at Pittsburgh Airport and other US Airway hubs are getting nervous about the situation. I wonder if this will push the government along to approve the deal? Wayne

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If US won’t merge with UA, what will happen to the proposed acquisition of some of UA assets by AA ?

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If US won’t merge with UA, what will happen to the proposed acquisition of some of UA assets by AA ?

It dies.  The sale of assets by UA to AA would require a transfer after the first transaction is approved. Rich

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The rich thing about this is that the threat of UA/US caused AA to encourage TW to file BK so AA could acquire the assets.  UA/US falls apart leaving AA the biggest and in better shape.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Personally, I hope not.  I think this merger is anticompetitive and bad for everybody – except Stephen Wolf, who makes his money from golden parachutes when whatever airline he is president of at the moment is acquired by another. If US is to merge, there are other options that fit with their route network and are less anti-competitive. Just my 2 cents worth. Jeff I heard a couple of reports this morning on the news media that US Airways is starting to get desparate about getting the merger deal done with UA. Seems like US Airways financial situation is getting worse and they may be near bankruptcy!  I alos hear that officals at Pittsburgh Airport and other US Airway hubs are getting nervous about the situation. I wonder if this will push the government along to approve the deal? Wayne

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If the US/UA deal fails and US goes bankrupt it will be interesting to see what happens to PIT, PHL, and CLT. I wonder what carriers would take over these airports.  AirTran would probably do well if they started a second HUB at PIT.  Who would get CLT or PHL?? Jeremy (who really doesn’t want to see US go)

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I heard a couple of reports this morning on the news media that US Airways is starting to get desparate about getting the merger deal done with UA. Seems like US Airways financial situation is getting worse and they may be near bankruptcy!  I alos hear that officals at Pittsburgh Airport and other US Airway hubs are getting nervous about the situation. I wonder if this will push the government along to approve the deal? Wayne

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Question:

I am working on a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and would eventually like to open my own PR firm.  I have about 2 years of school left.  What are some good places to start to gain some experience in this field.  Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Laura L. Heidke

Laura: Find about about intern opportunities.  If one doesn’t exist, create one.   Find ANY advertising, marketing services firm in your area and offer to work part time for no monetary fee.   Explain this would be an exchange of your labor time for the opportunity to meet regularly – when mutually convenient – with various members of the staff to learn about what they do, to attend client meetings as an observer, and other meetings where marketing/advertising decisions are made – again as an observer.   It doesn’t have to be a PR firm specifically – any marketing services firm will do. Part of your deal for working for no monetary fee should be the right to ask questions – either during or after meetings – where key decisions are made. Also ask to use a recorder with the complete assurance any taping is "for your ears only" as a learning aide. Hope this helps.  Good luck. P.S. Find and read cover to cover all the latest "best sellers" on the subject of PR.  You’ll wind up knowing more than the "pros" do… — George Wehmann Direct Marketing Resources Group, Inc. Raleigh, NC, Voice: 919-231-2728 Nothing’s as devastating to a subjective opinion… as an actual result. — DMRG Website: http://www.improvedresults.com

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Can anyone help with metrics regarding using traditional offline direct marketing (direct mail and telemarketing) to drive traffic to a web site? Should we include the 800#, reply card and/or information packet or will that take away from driving them online? We’ll test, test, test of course, but any help will be taken into account (baselines etc). Thank you. Greg Chambers

I’m not an accountant, so you should alway check with an accounting pro on any budgeting or accounting advice before DOING any thing. Business is made up of Revenue and Cost.  Subtract Cost From Revenue and you have Income.  Subtract Cost of Goods Sold, Overhead, etc to get to Marketing Costs or Cost of Sales.   Determine what your break even would be – ON AVERAGE – for a typical product sale.  ON AVERAGE is very important.  Don’t make assumptions on a "best" or "worse" case basis. Get familiar with Order Margin Per Unit of Sale and how to calculate it.  Order Margin is the per sale payback portion of your Income that tells you if you’re at marketing breakeven, profit or loss.  It’s a key number for marketing planning. Page 344 in Ed Burnett’s book "The Complete Direct Mail List Handbook" (Prentice Hall) offers one excellent explanation of Order Margin in the context of of Direct Marketing.  Don’t let Ed’s book title fool you. It’s an encyclopedia of knowledge on Direct Marketing and Marketing, not just Direct Mail Lists. Calculate cost of sales or marketing AT BREAKEVEN per unit and then by promotional activity.  This lets you determine how many market place contacts are required to achieve your net number of product sales.  This then dictates what your minimum required response rate needs to be to break even or to generate profit at whatever desirable level. Calculate the "in between numbers" as well – like lead conversion ratios. The key here is to assess the risk on a common sense basis.  If your breakeven calculations say you need a 5 or 10 percent response rate to break even, how realistic do you believe that would be?  At gut level, I wouldn’t bet too much.  On the other hand, if your calculations say your marketing breakeven requires only a fraction of a percent response – or some acceptable level – the level of risk is more acceptable. That’s what testing is all about.  Balancing risk and making trade off decisions using as much information as  you can find – especially about the resulting metrics of the strategies you eventually execute. Testing is all about finding the combination of strategic marketing variables, on an economic scale, that produce results at a level of risk that allows a payback and reinvestment to grow the business.  And direct marketing testing not only "discovers" success, it also discovers FAILURE – what doesn’t work.  You need to have a mindset that accepts financial loses – resulting from discovering failure – are an integral part of the "cost" of discovering success. Do all this in an assumptive model without worrying what the "real world" actuals are. Not yet.  Once your budgeting tool is in place – hopefully on a spreadsheet – you can begin to do "what if" planning trade off calculations on any number of the key variable "numbers" that make up your model’s revenue, cost and income assumptions, like response rate, conversion rate, cost of goods, cost of sales, etc. This assumptive tool will give you the ability to "couch" your marketing and testing decisions within a framework of projecting REAL costs and REAL revenues.  Doing the "what if" trade offs – and seeing their effect – can have a very sobering impact on your "planning versus doing" behavior.  Remember, "failing to plan is planning to fail". Should we include the 800#, reply card and/or information packet or will that take away from driving them online?

When you do direct marketing testing, you’ll know exactly what your testing objectives need to be as a result of the budget model you’ve built.  Then testing refinements can answer all the questions you have about 800#’s, reply cards, using info packets, etc since you can plug in assumptive numbers for their costs and potential revenue and income contribution effect and you can manage the risk of adding these variables accordingly. Once you have results from preliminary testing, if your results are favorable, you’ll need to refine, upgrade and repeat the testing on an ongoing basis so you can go from repeatable to predictable testing with a good P&L model to support you all the way. Using somebody else’s numbers for response and market potential is OK as a very general gauge of potental.  Substituting someone elses’ numbers to replace the unique set of numbers about your product, in your market, with your distribution and fulfillment circumstances, can often be worse than flying blind. For more methodology detail , see the URL for the testing article below. Good luck — George Wehmann Direct Marketing Resources Group, Inc. Raleigh, NC, Voice: 919-231-2728 Nothing’s as devastating to a subjective opinion… as an actual result. — DMRG Website: http://www.improvedresults.com — White Paper On Direct Marketing Testing: http://www.improvedresults.com/testing.htm

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Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The military pays nothing for the system at all, Okay, but what can be done about that?  Charge the military for the services they receive?  That cost would then just have to be made part of the defense budget. Who really cares? The real problem is that twits like "machogrande" (machito?) spread the lie that we in GA don’t pay our "fair share" of the costs of using a system that was built to military/airline specs. We really find this attitude over in the bicycle/public transit newsgroups.

Twit??? You must be a British conservative.  The worst kind.

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The military pays nothing for the system at all, Okay, but what can be done about that?  Charge the military for the services they receive?  That cost would then just have to be made part of the defense budget. Who really cares? I think that’s what I said.  Charging the military would make no difference as they’re funded by taxes already. The real problem is that twits like "machogrande" (machito?) spread the lie that we in GA don’t pay our "fair share" of the costs of using a system that was built to military/airline specs. Agreed.  Very little of the system could be shut down if general aviation didn’t exist.

Well perhaps you are right. It would seem to me, however, that if GA is paying a disproportionate share of the cost of the system, that the General Aviation lobby would be all in favor of user fees.  After all, what better way to fix the disparity than to have everyone pay for the services they actually use, and then GA would not be "subsidizing" the rest of the system. Strangely enough, however, it is here that all my conservative aviation friends depart from their philosophy of everyone being responsible for his own actions and paying his own way. I wonder why. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

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It would seem to me, however, that if GA is paying a disproportionate share of the cost of the system, that the General Aviation lobby would be all in favor of user fees.  After all, what better way to fix the disparity than to have everyone pay for the services they actually use, and then GA would not be "subsidizing" the rest of the system.

I think the protest against user fees is not necessarily that the principle is unfair, but it would end up being just an additional tax. Fuel taxes would not go down one cent to compensate. If they gave a reasonable fee structure, then abolished all avgas taxes, you’d have a point – but that’s not what they’d do in the schemes they’ve been trying to pass so far. Also, look at all the other countries with user fees – they all have much higher taxes on avgas than are present in the US. The combined taxes and user fees in some countries represent appaling value for money (look at the fees you get charged after landing somewhere in Germany, and that’s in addition to tax on fuel – with all the money they’d charge, they should have the best general aviation system in the world, but instead the service is in fact quite poor). The current system in the US (IMHO) offers good value for money despite being imperfect. Secondly, user fees cost money to collect – a whole new billing infrastructure would need to be implemented. Flying clubs and FBO’s would have to institute quite a bit of extra accounting (requiring extra staff and expense) to ensure the right fees are collected from the right renter since it’s going to end up being charged to the N-number of the plane (and if the FBO/clubs don’t do it, then the government has to set up this infrastructure – yet more expense). The current system, whilst not perfect, is at least simple, easy and cheap to collect. All it’d end up doing is putting up the cost of flying without funding the system any better – like in Europe, it would represent appaling value for money. — Dylan Smith, Houston TX. http://www.icct.net/~dyls "Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"

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The military pays nothing for the system at all not true. Who do you think is paying for the development of the ASR-11 and contributing to the development of STARS? Who do you think pays for, maintains, and staffs all those RAPCONs and military towers that provide services to civil aviation? —

We do, the taxpayers. Julio * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

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It has been my observation that most pilots, whose recreation is heavily subsidized by the public at large, (no way are GA pilots paying their fair share of the system they use) make no secret of their disdain of others’ receiving government largesse.

In what way is recreational flying subsidized by the public at large?

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::There was nothing personal implied in the response.  It was a general ::observation, using the collective pronoun "we", and I stand by the ::statement. Hiya Macho. Well, I suppose that since you happen to be part of the "we" you’re talking about, it is entirely within your rights to "generally observe" about "our" behaviour. By the way, when the votes that elected you "we’s" representative have been tallied, please let me know, will ya? ::It has been my observation that most pilots, whose recreation is ::heavily subsidized by the public at large, (no way are GA pilots ::paying their fair share of the system they use) make no secret of ::their disdain of others’ receiving government largesse. What??  That is incredulous…I don’t know about you but  I pay enough taxes to make a couple of Medical Doctors (!!)  in West Africa very happy for at least a year! There you go again witht the generalizations about all of us (seemingly mute) GA pilots.  You would do well to realize this aphorism by Voltaire: "Every generalization is dangerous. Even this one" ::It is because, I believe, the majority of pilots are conservatives, ::who in principle  think that government belongs to them alone to ::abuse.   Um, okay.  I don’t agree with  you of course, but I have never claimed to know about and hence speak for any and everyone so I’ll stop just short (with heels screeching) of spouting my "general observation"  ;) ::If the shoe fits, wear it.  If it doesn’t, ignore it. Cheers! — Frederic Woodbridge http://www.ifconfig.com

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Wow! A poster saying that GA does not carry its fair share. I can’t believe you really mean that. Have you no idea about the relationship between the fuel taxes and the cost of services, and the number of times your flight following request is denied because the controller is busy with IFR commercial traffic? GA gets the bumsrush too often, yet does pay its way. The majority of the system does not use the system for which it pays so dearly, yet 100% of the commercial and military system uses it. The military pays nothing for the system at all, and the fed piles the total cost into one budget section and allocates the cost to the private and commercial sector, and then whines that the private and commercial sector is not paying its way. Do you imagine for a moment that Air Force One with our hot buddy in the back is paying to use the system when it tootles around on his election junketeering – and don’t forget they always take the spare 747 along too in case the first one breaks down along the way, plus the press plane. Please think statements like the one you made through before making them, if you have the data at hand. The truth is that general aviation does pay it’s fair share when you consider the utilization of the atc system by the ga group as a whole. And GA pays the airports for services in the way of hangar rents and tiedown, local property taxes, license fees (depending on the state) as well as the fuel taxes which it pays whenever a ga plane takes a flight. Whenever I fly I am more than satisfied that I am paying my way. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Indeed a wonderful country, where we all can extol the government for subsidizing our recreational flying, and then with a clear conscience and in the same breath  bitch when it tries to help some poor bastard feed  and clothe his family. Who says you can’t have it both ways??? Ah jeez, I probably shouldn’t have posted about the "greatness" of America because I knew this was ultimately going to deteriorate into a political debate, which I really didn’t want. My apologies. However..(can’t let this one pass without at least a passing rebuttal I don’t quite agree with your posit about the government’s subsidizing of recreational flying.  As a tax-paying citizen, the provision by the government of a safe flying environment (just like driving, mind you) falls entirely within what is to be expected.  No more, no less! As for your "bitching in the same breath" statement, I have no idea where that came from!  What about my statement made you put such words into my mouth (or typing fingers?) Reading between the lines, are ya? Mind you, I have no arguments against government helping out someone down on their luck but that you assume praising the design and (relatively free)implementation of general aviation in the US automagically categorizes one as a "welfare state hater" is kinda warped logic, don’t you think? Heck, were you on welfare and no one helped and now you’re bitter? Cheers — Frederic Woodbridge Before you buy. There was nothing personal implied in the response.  It was a general observation, using the collective pronoun "we", and I stand by the statement. It has been my observation that most pilots, whose recreation is heavily subsidized by the public at large, (no way are GA pilots paying their fair share of the system they use) make no secret of their disdain of others’ receiving government largesse. It is because, I believe, the majority of pilots are conservatives, who in principle  think that government belongs to them alone to abuse. If the shoe fits, wear it.  If it doesn’t, ignore it.

Response:

The military pays nothing for the system at all,

Okay, but what can be done about that?  Charge the military for the services they receive?  That cost would then just have to be made part of the defense budget.

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The military pays nothing for the system at all,

  Oh geez, another brain surgeon.

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The military pays nothing for the system at all, Okay, but what can be done about that?  Charge the military for the services they receive?  That cost would then just have to be made part of the defense budget.

Who really cares? The real problem is that twits like "machogrande" (machito?) spread the lie that we in GA don’t pay our "fair share" of the costs of using a system that was built to military/airline specs. We really find this attitude over in the bicycle/public transit newsgroups.

Response:

The military pays nothing for the system at all, Okay, but what can be done about that?  Charge the military for the services they receive?  That cost would then just have to be made part of the defense budget. Who really cares?

I think that’s what I said.  Charging the military would make no difference as they’re funded by taxes already. The real problem is that twits like "machogrande" (machito?) spread the lie that we in GA don’t pay our "fair share" of the costs of using a system that was built to military/airline specs.

Agreed.  Very little of the system could be shut down if general aviation didn’t exist.

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-snip- of very good information Sorry, but you are incorrect in the knee-jerk assessment that GA pilots are not paying their fair share.

Excellent post from someone who is in a position to actually know what he is talking about. Additionally, I would guess that if you added up the income taxes paid by the GA population, they are paying more than their ‘fair’ share anyway, so if some of that extra comes back in the form of subsidies, that is just messed up accounting, not something for nothing. BDWood

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – There was nothing personal implied in the response.  It was a general observation, using the collective pronoun "we", and I stand by the statement. It has been my observation that most pilots, whose recreation is heavily subsidized by the public at large, (no way are GA pilots paying their fair share of the system they use) make no secret of their disdain of others’ receiving government largesse. It is because, I believe, the majority of pilots are conservatives, who in principle  think that government belongs to them alone to abuse.   If the shoe fits, wear it.  If it doesn’t, ignore it.

The shoe DOESN’T FIT!  You have committed a page 1 error! What subsidies does GA get, when we fly VFR, through the air, which is there, free for everybody to use? Do YOU pay YOUR "fair share" when you ride a bicycle across a bridge built for cars/trucks? Most of the ATC system is set up for the requirements of the military and airlines, not GA. We pay direct fuel taxes, tire taxes, tiedown/hangar (parking) fees to support the airports. In some states, Californis in particular, aircraft owners pay  1% of "fair market value" personal property tax and even taxes on their tiedowns to the local general fund, NONE of which goes back to support avaition. IMHO, GA subsidizes everybody else! Go attack some other windmill!

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Altimeters don’t have any way to directly take temperature into account. My queston: Don’t you need DENSITY altitude to gauge performance? Yes…….and no.   You don’t really fly an altimeter.  If you want to calculate performances, then yes you need density altitude figures,  in the air you rarely have the time.  Unless you are flying an ILS to or below mins it really isn’t that important and when you are, you generally get the feild setting so you’re accurate enough and when you’re VFR you dont really need the accuracy anyway, I mean who looks at the altimeter when ththey’re on final? BTW  I heard your new book is out.  Maybe when this job is over I’ll be able to afford one.  Either that or another LLama.=:)

While I agree with your points… but, * you’ve got plenty of time to calculate density altitude on the ground – and that’s exactly what you need to do when operating at a grass field (read: shortish) at altitude.  ie for take-off.  The t/o P chart does this – and that’s the idea of it. Here in New Zealand we have a group rating system – but that pretty much rules out most airfields (it’s very conservative).  Most clubs make it manditory to work through a t/o P chart (as well as complete a load sheet and flight plan).  There are a number of fields over here that are around 500 metres long. PS: our flight plans have just become chargeable over here – I believe this will have serious ramifications for all aircraft movements over here.  Most private ownwers will simply not file one, not use the radio – and therefore no one will know they’re there.  I can’t say I blame the pilots. — Regards  Duncan

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Indeed a wonderful country, where we all can extol the government for subsidizing our recreational flying, and then with a clear conscience and in the same breath  bitch when it tries to help some poor bastard feed  and clothe his family. Who says you can’t have it both ways???

Ah jeez, I probably shouldn’t have posted about the "greatness" of America because I knew this was ultimately going to deteriorate into a political debate, which I really didn’t want. My apologies. However..(can’t let this one pass without at least a passing rebuttal I don’t quite agree with your posit about the government’s subsidizing of recreational flying.  As a tax-paying citizen, the provision by the government of a safe flying environment (just like driving, mind you) falls entirely within what is to be expected.  No more, no less! As for your "bitching in the same breath" statement, I have no idea where that came from!  What about my statement made you put such words into my mouth (or typing fingers?) Reading between the lines, are ya? Mind you, I have no arguments against government helping out someone down on their luck but that you assume praising the design and (relatively free)implementation of general aviation in the US automagically categorizes one as a "welfare state hater" is kinda warped logic, don’t you think? Heck, were you on welfare and no one helped and now you’re bitter? Cheers — Frederic Woodbridge Before you buy.

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says… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – PS: our flight plans have just become chargeable over here – I believe this will have serious ramifications for all aircraft movements over here.  Most private ownwers will simply not file one, not use the radio – and therefore no one will know they’re there. I can’t say I blame the pilots. — Regards  Duncan I hate to sound like yet another jingoistic American but this is one more reason why I thank the stars everyday I takeoff into the wild blue "American" yonder! I can’t believe all the nonsense everyone else all over the world has to go through just to fly! — Frederic Woodbridge Before you buy. Indeed a wonderful country, where we all can extol the government for subsidizing our recreational flying, and then with a clear conscience and in the same breath  bitch when it tries to help some poor bastard feed  and clothe his family. Who says you can’t have it both ways???

I’d like to see it subsidised by the commercial operations side of things (this has nothing to to with Govn’t – but to do with the way they attempt cost recovery). It’s just not fair to make the lighties pay for what is in effect, there for the big boys.  eg. where I live, our main rwy is 3k’s long – why should I have to pay for that (I don’t need it). It’s just a small point – consider it generically please – effectively, the lighties are paying a much larger percentage than the commercial sector (divided by pax etc). How much do houses cost in the States — Regards  Duncan

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Indeed a wonderful country, where we all can extol the government for subsidizing our recreational flying, and then with a clear conscience and in the same breath  bitch when it tries to help some poor bastard feed  and clothe his family. Who says you can’t have it both ways??? Ah jeez, I probably shouldn’t have posted about the "greatness" of America because I knew this was ultimately going to deteriorate into a political debate, which I really didn’t want. My apologies. However..(can’t let this one pass without at least a passing rebuttal I don’t quite agree with your posit about the government’s subsidizing of recreational flying.  As a tax-paying citizen, the provision by the government of a safe flying environment (just like driving, mind you) falls entirely within what is to be expected.  No more, no less! As for your "bitching in the same breath" statement, I have no idea where that came from!  What about my statement made you put such words into my mouth (or typing fingers?) Reading between the lines, are ya? Mind you, I have no arguments against government helping out someone down on their luck but that you assume praising the design and (relatively free)implementation of general aviation in the US automagically categorizes one as a "welfare state hater" is kinda warped logic, don’t you think? Heck, were you on welfare and no one helped and now you’re bitter? Cheers — Frederic Woodbridge Before you buy.

There was nothing personal implied in the response.  It was a general observation, using the collective pronoun "we", and I stand by the statement. It has been my observation that most pilots, whose recreation is heavily subsidized by the public at large, (no way are GA pilots paying their fair share of the system they use) make no secret of their disdain of others’ receiving government largesse. It is because, I believe, the majority of pilots are conservatives, who in principle  think that government belongs to them alone to abuse.   If the shoe fits, wear it.  If it doesn’t, ignore it.

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Indeed a wonderful country, where we all can extol the government for subsidizing our recreational flying, and then with a clear conscience and in the same breath bitch when it tries to help some poor bastard feed  and clothe his family. Who says you can’t have it both ways???

In what way does the government subsidize recreational flying?

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I think your note reflects *your* experience with the pilots with whom you associate.  It sure doesn’t reflect the feelings of the pilots with whom *I* have associated over the past 25 years. –ron

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It has been my observation that most pilots, whose recreation is heavily subsidized by the public at large, (no way are GA pilots paying their fair share of the system they use) make no secret of their disdain of others’ receiving government largesse. It is because, I believe, the majority of pilots are conservatives, who in principle  think that government belongs to them alone to abuse. If the shoe fits, wear it.  If it doesn’t, ignore it.

Response:

+ It has been my observation that most pilots, whose recreation is + heavily subsidized by the public at large, (no way are GA pilots + paying their fair share of the system they use) make no secret of + their disdain of others’ receiving government largesse. Having spent two years serving on the board of a local airport, I’m always perplexed by statements such as the above. The airport I fly out of, year after year, contributes far more to the local community through direct and indirect taxes on revenue than it costs the local community to own and operate the airport – including the limited FAA subsidies it receives. Direct taxes include aircraft and hangar property taxes, fuel excises, sales taxes, and airport fees. Indirect taxes and revenue are the result of payroll, business, and income taxes on both the businesses and employees of those businesses that support aviation. Even including the ongoing maintenance and improvements, year after year after year, our local airport has generated far more revenue for the local community than it has ever received in FAA subsidies. So I’m sorry to say, but I disagree entirely with the characterization and assertion that GA pilots are not "paying their fair share of the system". Sure we use WX-BRIEF. Occasionally we use the ATC system with either VFR flight following or while under an IFR flight plan. But you are forgetting that things like VFR flight following are entirely voluntary for the ATC staff. It’s done when the controller’s workload permits it. ATC staff are not hired, nor employed with a primary responsibility for things like VFR flight following. As for the weather reporting, again, the number of GA pilots that use the weather reporting system on a regular and extensive basis is fairly low, and pales in comparison to the major air carrier usage of those facilities. You are forgetting that the vast majority of GA flights are training or currency flights that are local and VFR in nature. Very little of that traffic is actually captured by and actively controlled by the ATC system. The vast majority of those flights originate at local airports, many of which enjoy the same GA revenue windfall that our community enjoys, and routinely do not even have so much as a flight plan filed. Sorry, but you are incorrect in the knee-jerk assessment that GA pilots are not paying their fair share.

Response:

Altimeters don’t have any way to directly take temperature into account. My queston: Don’t you need DENSITY altitude to gauge performance?

Yes…….and no.   You don’t really fly an altimeter.  If you want to calculate performances, then yes you need density altitude figures,  in the air you rarely have the time.  Unless you are flying an ILS to or below mins it really isn’t that important and when you are, you generally get the feild setting so you’re accurate enough and when you’re VFR you dont really need the accuracy anyway, I mean who looks at the altimeter when ththey’re on final? BTW  I heard your new book is out.  Maybe when this job is over I’ll be able to afford one.  Either that or another LLama.=:)

Response:

PS: our flight plans have just become chargeable over here – I believe this will have serious ramifications for all aircraft movements over here.  Most private ownwers will simply not file one, not use the radio – and therefore no one will know they’re there. I can’t say I blame the pilots. — Regards  Duncan

I hate to sound like yet another jingoistic American but this is one more reason why I thank the stars everyday I takeoff into the wild blue "American" yonder! I can’t believe all the nonsense everyone else all over the world has to go through just to fly! — Frederic Woodbridge Before you buy.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – PS: our flight plans have just become chargeable over here – I believe this will have serious ramifications for all aircraft movements over here.  Most private ownwers will simply not file one, not use the radio – and therefore no one will know they’re there. I can’t say I blame the pilots. — Regards  Duncan I hate to sound like yet another jingoistic American but this is one more reason why I thank the stars everyday I takeoff into the wild blue "American" yonder! I can’t believe all the nonsense everyone else all over the world has to go through just to fly! — Frederic Woodbridge Before you buy.

Indeed a wonderful country, where we all can extol the government for subsidizing our recreational flying, and then with a clear conscience and in the same breath  bitch when it tries to help some poor bastard feed  and clothe his family. Who says you can’t have it both ways???

Response:

Dear Joe, and All: Altimeters don’t have any way to directly take temperature into account. Let’s say you landed at actual 13000′ but your altimeter there reads r = 12000′. So the pressure up there is somewhat higher than was predicted by your altimeter setting (put in at say 1700′). As you said, it was hot down below (which lowered the pressure and therefore lowered the altimeter setting) but relatively cooler up high (the isobars contracted) so pressure was higher than expected up top. Setting the altimeter to 29.92" Hg, assuming it’s working properly, gives you pressure altitude without any correction. My queston: Don’t you need DENSITY altitude to gauge performance? John. — John T. Lowry, PhD Flight Physics; Box 20919; Billings MT 59104 Voice: 406-248-2606 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m a helicopter pilot and am frequently making landings at high altitudes (12000 to 13000 ft). On days when the OAT is above the ISO Standard Temperture, my altimeter (which was set at a field elevation of 1700 ft) will read several hundred feet below the actual elevation of my landing site. Why is this?  I would think that at the higher temperatures, the opposite would happen.  Also – if I set the altimeter to 29.92" for computing the aircraft performance, is it actually showing me the true pressure altitude at these high elevation high OAT landings or is there a correction that I should be applying?

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Dear Joe, and All: Altimeters don’t have any way to directly take temperature into account. Let’s say you landed at actual 13000′ but your altimeter there reads r = 12000′. So the pressure up there is somewhat higher than was predicted by your altimeter setting (put in at say 1700′). As you said, it was hot down below (which lowered the pressure and therefore lowered the altimeter setting) but relatively cooler up high (the isobars contracted) so pressure was higher than expected up top. Setting the altimeter to 29.92" Hg, assuming it’s working properly, gives you pressure altitude without any correction. My queston: Don’t you need DENSITY altitude to gauge performance?

YES. — Regards  Duncan

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Question:

It has allowed organizations to do away with large numbers of administrative and secretarial staff– at least in performance auditing (not accounting, I know). | I have to  do a presentation on the effects of computers in today’s | accounting world. I was wondering if anyone could give me a little | insight of the effects of them. Thank you! | |                              Billy |One of the biggest differences the computer has made in my life it has |allowed me to continue working

To me it is truly frightening to consider that the transition to an information society which began in the early part of this century, is nearly complete, i.e. we’re all working in offices. It is almost axiomatic that computers, especially when combined with communication abilities, will be able to perform many of the activities performed by humans in administering the economy. The danger easy to understand -you’d have to be dumb as a doorpost to miss it… we must stop accepting money for reading and viewing and analyzing numbers and data themselves.  It is a sin.  It is exploitation of your client.  The punishment shall be losing those clients, as soon as they obtain the means to obtain financial analyses electronically, to send invoices electronically, receive them and pay them electronically, etc.  Accountants want to be far away from the clerical processes as possible when that day comes. We must also be far away from reportwriting.  Reports and analyses of every variety will be available. Instead we must move to a higher level of abstraction. We must direct the computer to feed streams of data from place to place. We must configure it, manage it, negotiate with data interface providers on price/performance.   We must decide what data is sensitive, and what is not.  We must decide who will be allowed access, who should not, and how to control that. We must search for software and select wisely. We must find wellsprings of data, of business opportunity, into which to connect.  We must be alert to the trap, the closed system, the company store. There is a real good article in Atlantic Monthly this month, Francis Fukuyama, The Great Disruption.  This will take an hour or two.  Fukuyama isn’t a genius. But he raises it to a high enough vantage point to understand where we are at right now, historically. While you’re at it read Lester Thurow’s last month, http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/current/9906thurow.htm "There are no institutional substitutes for individual entrepreneurial change agents. CAPITALISM is a process of creative destruction. The new destroys the old. Both the creation and the destruction are essential to driving the economy forward. Entrepreneurs are central to the process of creative destruction; they bring the new technologies and the new concepts into active commercial use. They are the change agents of capitalism. "

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In addition to the reduction of workloads it has greatly enhanced our ability to gather information and receive it much more timely.  First if you were asked "how many new customers did we get from the southeast last month" and you had to search through all the invoices for the month and determine which ones where new then count them by hand only for your boss to then say "how much is that expressed as a percent of total customers invoiced last month".  Doing this project by hand could, depending on size take days, weeks or even months.  Yet with computers we can obtain that information with a keystroke and the report is produced.  Because this type of information can be gathered without much effort the demand for this information continues to increase.  I have yet to install a new computer system that did not increase labor requirements for the company.  While the number of clerical and data entry people inevitably decline the number of high level skilled personnel required to collect, manage, distribute and decipher this information tends to increase. Secondly because the can now be collected and reported in a timely fashion corporations can spot trends both on the rise and decline much sooner and react to those changes thus changing the direction of the company as trends change.  This reduces waste as stockouts happen less frequently and outdated stock is reduced.  The effect is lower pricing in the long run. Many stores now collect data to help predict future sales.  For example grocery stores are developing customer profiles with the use of discount cards.  They issue the cards to customers who have them scanned when they shop and thus take advantage of any computerized discounts within the store.  What the store gets is a profile of every shopping trip.  How often and what they buy.  They develop profiles of a typical shopping trip and types of items that customers are buying.  Again helping to spot trends and develop future projections.  This type of info would never have been accessible prior to the advent of technology. Don

  It has allowed organizations to do away with large numbers of   administrative and secretarial staff– at least in performance   auditing (not accounting, I know).  Auditors used to hand write report   and then turn them over to secretaries who typed them.  Few changes   were made to reports.  Now, the auditors generally write their   findings and consolidate into reports without the intervention of the   administrative and secretarial staff.  Automation allows changes for   the most petty of reasons in the pursuit of perfection.   Auditors   have more pressure to do things formerly done by others.  Auditors   now, more than ever, need writing skills.     Automated workpapers will soon feed into reports.. indeed, some may be   doing this already.  I think Air Force performance/financial auditors   may already use such techniques.     |   |   | I have to  do a presentation on the effects of computers in today’s   | accounting world. I was wondering if anyone could give me a little   | insight of the effects of them. Thank you!   |   |                              Billy   |One of the biggest differences the computer has made in my life it has   |allowed me to continue working.  Chronic health problems and severe   |repetitive stress injuries have cost me full use of my hands and health   |problems mean I tire easily and haven’t been able to work a traditional   |9-5 day in 10 yrs.   |   |I am very dependent on my computer for work.  I use voice recognition   |technology to do high volumes of data entry related to accounting, to   |dictate letters to the word processor and with some aspects of my   |spreadsheets.   |   |With my limited ability to write  and type there would be many jobs I   |could no longer do.   |   |Without the computer I would be doing a minimum wage part time job   |somewhere that didn’t require writing or heavy lifting.   |   |I have met others who are completely dependent on their voice recogntion   |system and their computer to keep a job and run a business.   |   |I also use a tape recorder and dictation/transcription machine to record   |meetings and later play back tapes which I then dictate to the computer   |to summarize my notes.   |   |KG   |   |   |Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.   **Tippy**

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I have to  do a presentation on the effects of computers in today’s accounting world. I was wondering if anyone could give me a little insight of the effects of them. Thank you!                              Billy

Response:

I have to  do a presentation on the effects of computers in today’s accounting world. I was wondering if anyone could give me a little insight of the effects of them. Thank you!                              Billy

If you want some excellent reading on the future of computers and the internet in the accounting profession try to find archived copies of Todd Boyle’s post in this newsgroup.  

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Start with an abacus, the first true counting machine. — __Stephen Russell Memphis VFP User Group – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have to  do a presentation on the effects of computers in today’s accounting world. I was wondering if anyone could give me a little insight of the effects of them. Thank you!                              Billy

Response:

I have to  do a presentation on the effects of computers in today’s accounting world. I was wondering if anyone could give me a little insight of the effects of them. Thank you!                              Billy

One of the biggest differences the computer has made in my life it has allowed me to continue working.  Chronic health problems and severe repetitive stress injuries have cost me full use of my hands and health problems mean I tire easily and haven’t been able to work a traditional 9-5 day in 10 yrs. I am very dependent on my computer for work.  I use voice recognition technology to do high volumes of data entry related to accounting, to dictate letters to the word processor and with some aspects of my spreadsheets. With my limited ability to write  and type there would be many jobs I could no longer do. Without the computer I would be doing a minimum wage part time job somewhere that didn’t require writing or heavy lifting. I have met others who are completely dependent on their voice recogntion system and their computer to keep a job and run a business. I also use a tape recorder and dictation/transcription machine to record meetings and later play back tapes which I then dictate to the computer to summarize my notes. KG Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

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Question:

Thank you James for that information, it is very helpful. Regards, Armand Albano – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have implemented Platinum SQL at two fairly large corporations ($4.5B and $1.3B in annual revenues, respectively).  It is a fairly robust system, with a lot of flexibility.  Some of their modules (namely Purchase Order and Order Entry) don’t appear to be used by many people and may need some work to be used for your purposes (whatever they may be).  This isn’t a big hang-up with us since we have a separate system that we interfaced with Platinum to feed this info (my former employer did the same thing). One thing you have to keep in mind with Platinum SQL is that with flexibility you have a price.  That price is that they have few canned reports and their internal report writer is not set up to handle all needs for all people.  You need to purchase both Crystal Info and FRx report writer packages to do all of your custom reporting.  Neither are expensive nor hard to learn, but you need them to customize your reporting. Overall, I like Platinum over other packages I’ve used and/or implemented.  We did full implementations in less than a year from start to finish, going from 1970’s vintage mainframe systems to the latest in client-server technology.  Training our people was very straight forward, so there was very little downtime due to a learning curve.  I’d implement again if I moved to another company… Thanks, James K. Carter, CPA Controller  My company, a deregulated gas and electricity marketer is currently reviewing accounting software packages.  We are currently using UA, and it is, by far, the most poorly designed system I have ever had the displeasure to work with. The product that seems to be leading the pack is called Platinum SQL. It is obviously SQL server based.  Has anyone had any experience with this package?  Good or bad.  I would appreciate whatever information any of you could provide.

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I have implemented Platinum SQL at two fairly large corporations ($4.5B and $1.3B in annual revenues, respectively).  It is a fairly robust system, with a lot of flexibility.  Some of their modules (namely Purchase Order and Order Entry) don’t appear to be used by many people and may need some work to be used for your purposes (whatever they may be).  This isn’t a big hang-up with us since we have a separate system that we interfaced with Platinum to feed this info (my former employer did the same thing). One thing you have to keep in mind with Platinum SQL is that with flexibility you have a price.  That price is that they have few canned reports and their internal report writer is not set up to handle all needs for all people.  You need to purchase both Crystal Info and FRx report writer packages to do all of your custom reporting.  Neither are expensive nor hard to learn, but you need them to customize your reporting. Overall, I like Platinum over other packages I’ve used and/or implemented.  We did full implementations in less than a year from start to finish, going from 1970’s vintage mainframe systems to the latest in client-server technology.  Training our people was very straight forward, so there was very little downtime due to a learning curve.  I’d implement again if I moved to another company… Thanks, James K. Carter, CPA Controller – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –  My company, a deregulated gas and electricity marketer is currently reviewing accounting software packages.  We are currently using UA, and it is, by far, the most poorly designed system I have ever had the displeasure to work with. The product that seems to be leading the pack is called Platinum SQL. It is obviously SQL server based.  Has anyone had any experience with this package?  Good or bad.  I would appreciate whatever information any of you could provide.

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The 3 leading products at this time in this category are Great Plains Dynamics c/s+, Solomon IV, and Navision (not as well known but pretty solid). Platinum and Mas90 c/s are just climbing out of the 16 bit BTrieve / DOS / Novell environment. For years, Platinum claimed to be "client-server".  They only recently offered a MS SQL based system. "Design" could mean look and feel, documentation, … ?   Actually, UA Corporate Accounting products are slightly out of the mold of conventional accounting systems. If the choice were to spend $50K on Great Plains or $22K on UA plus another $10K or $20K for modifications, you would have a more perfect fit for less money with UA. In this category, custom satisfaction is often a function of the resources and experience of the vendor. Respectfully,  - Carl Dick 800-997-7944 My company, a deregulated gas and electricity marketer is currently reviewing accounting software packages.  We are currently using UA, and it is, by far, the most poorly designed system I have ever had the displeasure to work with. The product that seems to be leading the pack is called Platinum SQL. It is obviously SQL server based.  Has anyone had any experience with this package?  Good or bad.  I would appreciate whatever information any of you could provide.

- Carl Dick 949-261-2694 800-997-7944 www.cpaccess.com

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My company is currently switching over to Platinum and as of yet we have only had minor complaints. From what I understand, I didn’t see the price tag, it is a farily expensive product. If medium to high priced software is what you are looking for Platinum is supposedly the best, I have worked with Macola and MAS90 software packages and they are both very good. MAS 90 is a windows NT server program and although tech support initially was bad they have improved significantly in the last few years. They have very few errors and seem to have all of the reporting you could want but they also have a report writer function to write custom reports. I hope this helps you. HCR     My company, a deregulated gas and electricity marketer is currently reviewing accounting software packages.  We are currently using UA, and it is, by far, the most poorly designed system I have ever had the displeasure to work with.     The product that seems to be leading the pack is called Platinum SQL.  It is obviously SQL server based.  Has anyone had any experience with this package?  Good or bad.  I would appreciate whatever information any of you could provide.

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My company, a deregulated gas and electricity marketer is currently reviewing accounting software packages.  We are currently using UA, and it is, by far, the most poorly designed system I have ever had the displeasure to work with. The product that seems to be leading the pack is called Platinum SQL. It is obviously SQL server based.  Has anyone had any experience with this package?  Good or bad.  I would appreciate whatever information any of you could provide.

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Question:

Several weeks ago, the hot topic in this newsgroup was circumcision. Someone posted medical references from several decades ago that stated the main purpose of circumcision of infants was to prevent masturbation as the child grew. If anyone still has this would you please repost? Thanks.

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Several weeks ago, the hot topic in this newsgroup was circumcision. Someone posted medical references from several decades ago that stated the main purpose of circumcision of infants was to prevent masturbation as the child grew. If anyone still has this would you please repost? Thanks.

You wouldnt know, Betty…but I can assure you that circumsision does not prevent masturbation. —— James E. Douglass ******

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Several weeks ago, the hot topic in this newsgroup was circumcision. Someone posted medical references from several decades ago that stated the main purpose of circumcision of infants was to prevent masturbation as the child grew. If anyone still has this would you please repost? You wouldnt know, Betty…but I can assure you that circumsision does not prevent masturbation.

Does not prevent, but DOES make it less pleasurable, and often more difficult. Here’s an extract from an article published in the Montreal Gazette last September. It may help you understand why sex is less pleasureable after circumcision: "We really do tend to talk about the penis much more than we know about it," says Dr. John Taylor, a pathologist at the Manitoba Health Sciences Centre. Taylor set out to change that, and examined the foreskins of 22 deceased adult men in his morgue.  His very elementary finding  –  that the inside of the prepuce contains highly specialized nerve endings, and that anatomically "the prepuce very much resembles the lip"  –  was considered newsworthy enough by the British Journal of Urology that it accepted Taylor’s foreskin study for publication. Taylor found the inside of the foreskin contains a band of ridged skin, the ridges holding a number of round nerve endings.  Those round nerve endings rub up and down the penile shaft during intercourse, leading Taylor to postulate that the purpose of the foreskin is to encourage the ejaculatory reflex. The medical literature is totally silent on a related question: the relationship between sexual performance and circumcised state among middle-aged and older men. After circumcision, the skin of a male’s glans kerotinizes  –  thickens and toughens up.  If a man’s sex drive declines as he gets older, does a thin-skinned glans allow him more sexual sensation than a thick-skinned one? This question, unfortunately, stands at the unstudied frontier of male sexuality.

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: : My answer is: "Well, your parents could have had you circumsized : : before you turned two years old." : : : : How’d you like to be the parents of one of these patients? : : : : Rafael Luebbert, M.D. : While they’re shopping for different parents, they’d probably do well to look : for a more compassionate doctor as well. : Can we see some stats on this, doc? Uncircumsized males have twenty times the risk of urinary tract infections than circumsized males, and 3000 times the risk of penile cancer. Circumcision also prevents the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and decreases the risk of cervical cancer in females. While in fact, people in countries with excellent hygeine have low risks of penile cancer, like Scandanavia, places with moderate to poor hygeine have high incidences of penile cancer.  The United States would be considered a country with barely moderate hygeine practices.  In Africa, where uncircumsized males are the norm, and hygeine is poor, penile cancer is abundant; 20% of all male cancers in Africa are cancer of the penis. Penile cancer represents the ONLY neoplasm for which there exists a predictable and simple means of prophylaxis that SPARES the organ at risk. Rafael Luebbert

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Hmm, how about removing all our teeth – then we won’t get toothache ?

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – : : My answer is: "Well, your parents could have had you circumsized : : before you turned two years old." : : : : How’d you like to be the parents of one of these patients? : : : : Rafael Luebbert, M.D. : While they’re shopping for different parents, they’d probably do well to look : for a more compassionate doctor as well. : Can we see some stats on this, doc? Uncircumsized males have twenty times the risk of urinary tract infections than circumsized males, and 3000 times the risk of penile cancer. Circumcision also prevents the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and decreases the risk of cervical cancer in females. While in fact, people in countries with excellent hygeine have low risks of penile cancer, like Scandanavia, places with moderate to poor hygeine have high incidences of penile cancer.  The United States would be considered a country with barely moderate hygeine practices.  In Africa, where uncircumsized males are the norm, and hygeine is poor, penile cancer is abundant; 20% of all male cancers in Africa are cancer of the penis. Penile cancer represents the ONLY neoplasm for which there exists a predictable and simple means of prophylaxis that SPARES the organ at risk. Rafael Luebbert

     Earily retraction of the foreskin can and does cause adhesions which can occlude part or all of the urethral opening probably accounting for most of the UTIs. Foreskin should not be forced back to be cleaned . Infantile erections will eventually stretch and loosen any natural adhesions allowing complete retraction of the foreskin. Bad advice by docs about early retraction and cleaning has cause a great deal of pain and illness. Sharon

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Uncircumsized males have twenty times the risk of urinary tract infections than circumsized males, and 3000 times the risk of penile cancer. Circumcision also prevents the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and decreases the risk of cervical cancer in females. While in fact, people in countries with excellent hygeine have low risks of penile cancer, like Scandanavia, places with moderate to poor hygeine have high incidences of penile cancer.  The United States would be considered a country with barely moderate hygeine practices.  In Africa, where uncircumsized males are the norm, and hygeine is poor, penile cancer is abundant; 20% of all male cancers in Africa are cancer of the penis.

It would be useful to explain the difference between "excellent hygeine" and poor hygeine of the uncircumcised male here. Many parents who choose not to have their sons cicumcised might not know. This information is not easy to find. Don Nelson

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: Uncircumsized males have twenty times the risk of urinary tract : infections than circumsized males, and 3000 times the risk of penile : cancer. Circumcision also prevents the spread of sexually : transmitted diseases and decreases the risk of cervical cancer in females. And if you believe that…. Do I read you right? "Prevents" the spread of std’s? How does it do that? You also failed to reference your "stats." They’re no good without it.

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – : I am looking for information, articles, history, of circumcision; for an : article  I am writing on the subject, with the theme that circumcision is : nothing less than a barbaric mutilation ritual. Anything you have would be : appreciated. Post here or send to RNKLEIN.aol.com. Thanks. As a physician and a urologist, I have seen quite a few men 20-30 years old with penile cancer (squamous cell carcinoma of the penis), the treatment which is complete removal of the penis. Invariably, they ask how they got it and how it could have been prevented. My answer is: "Well, your parents could have had you circumsized before you turned two years old." How’d you like to be the parents of one of these patients? Rafael Luebbert, M.D.

Well in my experiences, I have talked to people with cancers of the lungs, breasts, prostrate, skin, etc. I guess a well caring parent can have all of these things removed at birth. What a bizarre approach to medicine people are being taught today. Healing by removal. I think a better approach is to learn proper care and to have the knowledge to cure without the need for a knife. Regards, Rich

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: My answer is: "Well, your parents could have had you circumsized : before you turned two years old." : : How’d you like to be the parents of one of these patients? : : Rafael Luebbert, M.D. While they’re shopping for different parents, they’d probably do well to look for a more compassionate doctor as well. Can we see some stats on this, doc?

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I am looking for information, articles, history, of circumcision; for an article  I am writing on the subject, with the theme that circumcision is nothing less than a barbaric mutilation ritual. Anything you have would be appreciated. Post here or send to RNKLEIN.aol.com. Thanks.

Sounds like a real balanced article… jon

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I am looking for information, articles, history, of circumcision; for an article  I am writing on the subject, with the theme that circumcision is nothing less than a barbaric mutilation ritual. Anything you have would be appreciated. Post here or send to RNKLEIN.aol.com. Thanks.

Hi. You may want to contact the National Organization of Circumcision Information Rsources Centers at 415-488-9883. They have a newletter which lists most books and nesletters relating to this topic. Regards, Rich

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 As a physician and a urologist, I have seen quite a few men 20-30 years old  with penile cancer (squamous cell carcinoma of the penis), the treatment  which is complete removal of the penis. Invariably, they ask how they got  it and how it could have been prevented.  My answer is: "Well, your parents could have had you circumsized before you  turned two years old."

     OR, if they chose not to worship at the feet of the Mighty Scalpel (as surgery, as such, is not medicine, but mechanics) my answer would be:     "Well, your parents could have taught you the rudiments of personal hygiene before you turned two years old."      The logic of "prevention by removal", while easy to understand, seems to indicate a lust for unnecessary cutting. Why not yank all second growth teeth as soon as they emerge? Hey, it would save a heck of a lot of trips to the dentist, plus all that time brushing.

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: I am looking for information, articles, history, of circumcision; for an : article  I am writing on the subject, with the theme that circumcision is : nothing less than a barbaric mutilation ritual. Anything you have would be : appreciated. Post here or send to RNKLEIN.aol.com. Thanks. As a physician and a urologist, I have seen quite a few men 20-30 years old with penile cancer (squamous cell carcinoma of the penis), the treatment which is complete removal of the penis. Invariably, they ask how they got it and how it could have been prevented. My answer is: "Well, your parents could have had you circumsized before you turned two years old." How’d you like to be the parents of one of these patients? Rafael Luebbert, M.D.

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I am looking for information, articles, history, of circumcision; for an article  I am writing on the subject, with the theme that circumcision is nothing less than a barbaric mutilation ritual. Anything you have would be appreciated. Post here or send to RNKLEIN.aol.com. Thanks.

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I attended my first ‘Bris" (is that right?) and I passed out from the sight.  It made me ill to watch this, and all I could think later is that a lot of barbaric things are done in the name of religion.  Or health. Has anyone here seen a bris?  The kid is given a pacifier dipped in Mogen David to suck on while the Mohel removes part of his penis!  I thought to myself any man in the room would pass out from pain and fear if all he had was a few drops of wine… Heck, even if he had a whole glass people would scream barbarism and torture. It is sick sick sick. Duffy

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