PortlandMaxTrains

While your attentions was elsewhere...

2011-07-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

And Bob is only one of 8,700 CFOs of third tier filers.

2010-11-25T07:53:00.001-08:00

"Last week I was talking to the CFO of a small public company - I'll call him "Bob" (not his real name, but you probably guessed that). He said they use specialist software to produce their SEC filings, which they file themselves. He likes the software and process, and he likes the price. But recently he's had a call from the account manager, who was thrilled to tell him that they were ready to meet all his XBRL filing needs - at almost 8 to 10 times their current costs. Bob almost choked. He told me, "Dan, who do they think we are?"

And Bob is only one of 8,700 CFOs of third tier filers.

The full discussion can be seen and comments here: http://raasconsulting.blogspot.com/2010/11/crunch-is-coming.html

Got my 2nd ever issue of XBRL magazine. Think I'll leave it shrink wrapped.

2010-09-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Collectors value and all that.

Portland # 40 on list of stressed out cities

2010-09-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

link

SEC Seeks public comment, my multiple attempts to contact them ignored

2010-09-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

NEWS RELEASE 08/31/10

2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy Now Available for Public Review and Comment

Norwalk, CT, August 31, 2010—The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) today announced the availability of the proposed 2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy for public review and comment.
http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/edgartaxonomies_d.shtml

I think only large corporations need apply. My multiple attempts to get my concerns about the security of XBRL addressed (Hey Walter, still waiting to hear from you) have gone unanswered.

How can you stop a drivers mind from wandering?

2010-09-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

Wuala. We're a team of 15 passionate innovators. 9 have a master's degree or Ph.D. in computer science from ETH Zurich/EPFL Lausanne. We have no street smarts though.

2010-08-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

From the Actg Sux folder

2010-08-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

"If you ask any accounting faculty member which course is the “weed out” course for
accounting majors, the answer will likely come back intermediate. Ask any recent
accounting graduate what their most difficult course was in college and the answer will
usually be intermediate accounting. In the typical business college you will find wide
agreement that to be successful in accounting you must get through the landmine field
known as intermediate accounting. Marketing and management majors are filled with the
bloody corpses of students who started out as accounting majors and thanks to intermediate
have changed their degree goals."

--Trends in intermediate accounting, Davidson and Francisco

Save money

2010-08-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hidden clue in the movie Wargames shows how to...

2010-08-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

...solve all our problems with the national debt, unemployment and overpopulation all at once.

The 37 things you need to know to make XBRL a snap

2010-07-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

The 37 things you need to know to make XBRL a snap

1. XML. Not all of it, if you can teach at PHD level (classes in the 500's and 600's) you'll do fine.

2. Decide if you want Financial Reporting and General Ledger

3. General Ledger is called Global Ledger.

3. For financial reporting, know how to read all your businesses required financial statements down to the line item. Five years experience in the valuation department of a major stockbroker should be fine.

4. For general ledger, know all the accounts on the chart of accounts, how to do all the journal entries (initial , adjusting , closing, reversing). Reconciliations too. A couple years experience as a bookkeeper should be fine.

7. XBRL.US is where you find out if you have the correct versions of your documents (in the USA).

c. The vast majority of what you'll find on the internet is about mapping and tagging, which is an infinitessimal small portion of XBRL

5. Paying a lot of money for the best software is like paying a lot of money for your own Indy Car. If you don't know what you're doing you'll grind up the gearbox, get in crashes, cause crashes, and in general not fool anybody.

iii. That said, if you have to get on the track right now today, the single best resource I've found to date is "6 Steps To XBRL". (Google knows where it is)

7. Tired: GAAP, Excel, Edgar Wired: IFRS, XBRL, IDEA

8. XBRL is more complicated than suppressed carrier single sideband radio, signaling system 7, IP Addressing, stock options with declining puts offset by climbing calls. Put together.

9. Additionally, you'll have to learn to program in java or .net.

37. A strong foundation in the Document Object Model.

We're #4! Woot!

2010-07-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/20/7-most-popular-us-light-r_n_589225.html#s93342

2010-06-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

I'm Walter Hamscher. Please don't ask why it's impossible to use XBRL without sending proprietary data to untrusted computers.

(my simple direct question to Ask-OID@sec.gov has gone unanswered for 10 days now.)

Game A 1 Degree Game B 2 Degrees Game C Over-Qualified

2010-05-23T06:37:00.001-07:00

Rare sighting of someone feeding pigeons on purpose

2010-05-21T08:13:00.001-07:00

Levitation shoes activate!

2010-05-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

Woot! Got my copy of the only print XBRL magazine in the world today

2010-05-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

Haven't even opened it yet. I suppose I need to learn something about XBRL besides 'mapping and tagging is a fast track to a temp job and/or unemployment' sometime.

Exclusive Picture of the Stuck Trimet Train Tonight, Tues May 11 2010

2010-05-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

I was headed to Gateway TC on a Yellow line when they stopped at Union Station and said there was a stuck train on the bridge. Said they would send the bus for us. After a few minutes of milling around I said, "What the hell, I'll just walk across the bridge."

Snapped a few pics, and they got it going just as I went by. Looked to be a 3 car train, and they unhooked the lead car and then the lead and the second two started off. Presumably the delay was to get another train driver out there. The only trimet I saw was that guy in yellow and his pickup behind the train, so presumably he drove the driver there.

Hats off to that Trimet guy, he could work at Les Schwab, he fucking ran for everything he did!

Kept one pic for myself and sent the rest to the Oregonian. Even though the bridge cleared just as I walked by, I still beat my train on foot and caught a blue out to Gateway TC. Ride was uneventful except the stops and the platform were longer and the train went slower. I presume they were trying to space them out again after getting bunched up.

XBRL Global Magazine

2010-04-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

http://xbrl.us/news/pages/xbrlglobalsubscribe.aspx

How Far you you can go in 45 min in PDX on public transit

2010-04-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.walkscore.com/transit-map.php

Next Stop, Self Test

2010-04-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Green Line Public Art Tour

2010-03-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

Green Line Public Art Tour: Portland Mall

14 artists were selected to create more than 40 sculptures as part of the 2009 revitalization of the Portland Mall. Artists developed work with a sense of history for the historic North Mall and a theme of sustainability for the progressive university district in the South Mall. In the central Mall, 10 new sculptures were added to expand the collection of regional sculpture in downtown Portland.

http://trimet.org/publicart/greenline/index.htm

Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project is on Facebook

2010-03-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=203378523522

New Trimet Mobile Apps

2010-03-01T20:46:00.000-08:00

http://trimet.org/apps/index.htm

Portland: 2010 service cuts announced

2010-02-26T20:59:00.000-08:00

Still, these cuts are a small part of the damage. The main damage is further loss of frequency on the former "Frequent Network," now including midday MAX light rail frequencies as well as buses. This is really where the downward spiral of cuts and ridership could play out. I have one strong suggestion about these cuts: Given that you've already given up on the 15-minute frequency standard, try to hold the line at 20 -- exactly 20.

http://www.humantransit.org/2010/02/portland-2010-service-cuts-announced.html

http://trimet.org/openhouse/budget.htm

This chart will clear things up

2010-02-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

New XBRL Portal on the block

2010-02-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

http://www.xbrl4.org/regulators/index.html

David Blaszkowsky, Director of the SEC's Office of Interactive Disclosure interview

2010-02-16T03:27:00.000-08:00

16 February 2010

A conversation with David Blaszkowsky, Director of OID (XBRL) at the SEC

"Earlier last week I had the pleasure of spending some time (over the phone) with David Blaszkowsky, Director of the SEC's Office of Interactive Disclosure.

The Office of Interactive Disclosure (OID) carries the heavy responsibility of implementing the SEC's Interactive Data rules for GAAP for public companies, for mutual funds and for ratings..."

http://raasconsulting.blogspot.com/2010/02/conversation-with-david-blaszkowsky.html

xbrl in all its angle bracket glory

2010-02-13T01:12:00.000-08:00

http://raasconsulting.blogspot.com/2010/02/xbrl-detailed-tagging-fearmongering-or.html

demodex folliculorum

2010-02-12T01:48:00.000-08:00

Seems tax cuts are strongly represented

2010-02-11T14:55:00.001-08:00

I wanted to ride the Portland Streetcar, but there's no where to park!

2010-02-10T20:28:00.001-08:00

OK, it costs to park near PSU, so I think I'll drive 10 blocks to the Johns Landing area, and take the street car. Always wanted to ride it. But I get down to Macadam Ave and start looking for a place to park that's free, and there aren't any. WTF? I end up driving back to PSU and paying to park.

Google OneBox

2010-02-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

http://www.google.com/enterprise/gsa/onebox.html

Avoiding Common Errors of XBRL Implementation

2010-02-05T22:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2010/Feb/20092058.htm

34 sources of client value

2010-02-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

http://cpatrendlines.com/2010/02/01/what-clients-want-34-ways-to-quantify-value/

Cool, I didn't know they were taking the streetcar across the river and making a loop

2010-02-01T23:31:00.000-08:00

http://www.portlandstreetcar.org/constupdates.php

EZ XBRL

2010-02-01T22:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.ez-xbrl.com/

No mention of price or a way to download. Fill out the 'Contact Us' if you're feeling lucky.

Why can't we have grass?

2010-01-29T03:17:00.001-08:00

Portland Hamburgers, just what it says

2010-01-29T01:33:00.000-08:00

Portland Hamburgers, just what it says

"Clients see it as a compliance burden"

2010-01-28T22:59:00.000-08:00

XBRL assumptions have been turned upside down. “The regulators have been the innovators, both in the UK and the US,” says Richard Anning, head of the IT faculty at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

“We expected it to be investors who drove XBRL, but now it is the regulators.”

XBRL was expected to be a boon to business. Instead, it has come to be seen as a chore.

“Clients see it as a compliance burden coming at the wrong time in the economic cycle,” says Sean Callaghan, leader for XBRL in the UK for accountants Ernst & Young.

In the UK, all corporation tax returns with the relevant accounts and computations will have to be filed online in a version of XBRL called iXBRL from 1 April 2011 for periods ending on or after 1 April 2010.

Companies have some grace if they can enter their accounts early, ahead of the 2011 deadline. But that is as far as it goes. “We are going to have a rough couple of years,” says Mr Tilbury.

“There is a complete lack of awareness,” says Ken Williamson, head of financial accounting advisory services for Ernst & Young. “Every set of statutory accounts in the UK need to be done under XBRL and that has gone completely under the radar.”

link

2010-01-25T12:55:00.000-08:00

Gilbane Spotlights on ECM and XML in the Public Sector

XBRL Improves Financial Grant Reporting in Nevada by More Than 90 Percent
Author: Neal Hannon
Going Paperless: Iowa’s Administrative Code Now Published Only in Electronic Form
Author: Dale Waldt
What the DIA’s Experiences with Content Management and Interoperability Mean to other Public Sector Organizations
Author: Barry Schaeffer
Is Open Government an Oxymoron? Spotlighting the Open Government and Innovations Conference
Author: Geoffrey Bock
Tracking TARP: Can LegalXML and XBRL Team Up to Help?
Author: Neal Hannon

The ministry of economy and finance. meh.

2010-01-24T09:56:00.000-08:00

http://www.slideshare.net/AlejandroAmelivia/xbrl-in-municipalities

XBRL Project Co-Ord, $14 an hour

2010-01-22T06:01:00.000-08:00

No thanks. But I'll save your number, call you a week before deadline, and offer to bail you out for $20,000.

Confluence QuickTag is free, haven't tried it yet

2010-01-20T13:45:00.000-08:00

http://www.confluence.com/en-us/xbrl_qt.shtml

When Blue Man Group is sad, do they sing the whites?

2010-01-17T20:34:00.000-08:00

Video of Giant Robots attacking Montevideo

2010-01-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

Panic Attack, very well done for low-budget

I read the guy who made it picked up a sweet gig producing a $30 million version.

The purchase bone is connected to the raw materials bone

2010-01-15T17:27:00.000-08:00

Free Online XBRL (ish) Training

2010-01-15T02:06:00.000-08:00

Free online XBR:L (ish) training
http://www.altova.com/aot/online-training.aspx

streamlining

2010-01-13T21:14:00.001-08:00

35% Have $10,000 or more in credit card debt

2010-01-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

Almost one-third of CPA financial planners said their clients are carrying more credit card debt than they did five years ago, Among them, here's how much more they are carrying on average:

* $10,000 or more    35%

* $5,000 to $9,999   28%

* $2,500 to $4,999   19%

* Less than $2,500    2%

* Unknown            17%

Source: AICPA Personal Financial Planning Client Needs Survey,www.aicpa.org/download/news/2008/AICPA%5fPFP%5fSurvey.pdf.

XBRL "200"

2010-01-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

Data and Metadata in XBRL

2010-01-09T03:20:00.001-08:00

Four Market Predictions for 2007 to 2017 (chart)

2010-01-08T17:00:00.000-08:00

http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411998_retirement_security.pdf page 24

I survived the great power outage

2010-01-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

About the only way it affected me is Green only went to Rose Quarter, and Rose Quarter was dark. Took a very full Blue to Union Square.

You go Max, this blog is partly because I love the light rail.

I'm unqualified, which means whatever you want it to mean

2010-01-06T00:58:00.000-08:00

So elementFormDefault is in the namespace? Cool!

Take the Red or Blue Line, or wait for another Green?

2010-01-04T16:14:00.001-08:00

I just missed my Green line train at Lloyd Center (A) to PSU (C). Trains are on a 15 minute schedule, so at Lloyd Center there will be one every 5 minutes. Take a Red or Blue to Pioneer Square (B), wait for 7.5 mintues for a Yellow, or weight 15 minutes for another Green?

So, who is it legal to marry again?

2010-01-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

Suggest one or two more items that make it difficult to interpret accounting information without some context.

2010-01-02T15:40:00.000-08:00

Reflection and Self-assessment 15.1

· Consider the list of complexities inherent in accounting information presented above. Suggest one or two more items that make it difficult to interpret accounting information without some context.

Solution:

One of the things that makes it hard in the financial industry are loans. With the help of XBRL accountants can easily sort through data and determine fixed rate loans variable rate loans, and hybrid loans that have turned to variable rate loans, etc. With out this technology accountants must spend hours sorting through data, and making human errors in analyzing the data. Without some type of context it makes it impossible to analyze or perform any type of forecasting of this nature.

The XBRL Adventures of Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Sato

2009-12-31T05:55:00.000-08:00

The XBRL Adventures of Mr. Suzuki and Mr Sato

How can I quit you?

2009-12-30T17:02:00.000-08:00

Light Dusting of Snow Paralyzes City: Cannibalism Next?

2009-12-29T18:23:00.000-08:00

An Element

2009-12-27T15:49:00.001-08:00

Some of the SW I'm evaluating

2009-12-26T18:19:00.001-08:00

SeveralWordsWithoutSpacesBetween

2009-12-26T00:16:00.000-08:00

A Very Simple Balance Sheet

2009-12-25T07:52:00.001-08:00

I didn't really want to dig into that stuff anyways

2009-12-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

You might find the metadata in 'image properties'

2009-12-24T12:06:00.001-08:00

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=108360&p=irol-secToc&TOC=aHR0cDovL2NjYm4uMTBrd2l6YXJkLmNvbS94bWwvY29udGVudHMueG1sP2lwYWdlPTY1ODY4NDUmcmVwbz10ZW5rJnNYQlJMPTE=&sXBRL=1

XBRL is extremely complicated

2009-12-24T06:33:00.001-08:00

A Cartoon Guide To XBRL

2009-12-23T19:45:00.000-08:00

Just not riding the trains lately

2009-12-22T06:19:00.001-08:00

Okay Will pick up more in Jan. Merry Christmas to all.

A map of downtown

2009-12-18T10:00:00.001-08:00

A little link testing

2009-12-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

19th Conference Some XBRL documentation

Light blogging

2009-12-14T15:52:00.001-08:00

not riding the rails much...

2009-11-25T11:04:00.001-08:00

Rode the #112 this morning.